Sometimes, it can be hard to find your own faith, especially with all the struggles of life. Today, guest blogger Holly Herbig will be sharing all about how she finds her own faith, and how you can too! Are you ready to start finding your faith?
Holly Herbig is a 30-something mother of 3 marvelous kidlets. She lives in Canberra, Australia, loves a great cup of coffee and rarely has normal colored hair. She is the owner and writer of Vintage Courage, a blog about vintage fashion and empowering women to find their own confidence. As well as writing about fashion, she also covers vintage beauty, lifestyle, and DIY, all with a light-hearted humor and can-do attitude. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
I have been a Christian for three decades. I have a deep love of God and a passion for living a life of faith. Throughout the journey of discovering myself in Him, there have been many highs and lows along the way. But all the same, I have never experienced an instance of being disappointed by God.
So, I find myself on a winding journey of two steps forward, ten steps back. It can be exhausting!
Over my many decades of pursuing the heart of God and His place in my life, I have dedicated myself to discovering who God is and who He delicately created me to be. After all, the creator of the universe is worth the effort, right? It is undeniable to me that God exists. And He exists in my heart. He exists in my DNA.
While I admit this process has not been an easy one, and there have been so many hurts and failed attempts at leading at faithful life, it has taught me where to uncover those places that I can find myself in faith. As with anything in the complex life, the more knowledge we have, the better we do each challenge.
Knowing where to start looking is half the battle won.
Find Your Faith In Creation
Have you ever walked to a mountaintop in time for sunrise? There is a calm silence in which you can sit, a stillness in the wilderness around you and an incredible kaleidoscope of colors inching up from the horizon.
It is an undeniably beautiful experience.
I have the privilege of living in Australia; a buzzing island of unique wildlife and spectacular landscapes. It is very easy to see the life in all that exists around me. Trust me, once you have seen a kangaroo on your front lawn you will feel very confronted with the uniqueness of creation!
But I firmly believe that every country has its own creative identity. Witness the vivid greens of Eastern Europe, the sulphuric volcanoes of New Zealand or the scorched desert ranges of Africa. The world is an extraordinary place.
Wherever you live, you do not need to step further than your front door to find a joyful creation. Spending just a moment with your eyes wide open, your heart quiet and your soul simply breathing the world around you is a powerful tool for feeling your faith.
I am such a goal-driven person that I often feel the need to do something while I sit and absorb. But that is not what these moments are about. God’s identity is quite literally painted on the world all around you.
All you need to do is look.
Find Your Faith In Words
Words are a marvelous and dangerous double-edged sword. They can uplift or destroy, without even recognition of their impact. Wounding words have a way of burrowing deep into a person and hiding behind dark doorways, building in pain for when they are set free again.
On the flip side, kind words will warm the soul and bring light to shadows that would have otherwise lay hidden. The right words can unleash the heart of a person onto a new pathway they would not have dreamed existed for them.
We must always be careful with our words.
Let the words sink into you.
I also believe that discovering and love can be found in the words of people. Seek quotes that resonate with you, write down notes of conversations with friends, doodle keywords in a sketchbook while you listen to a sermon, put song words on your mirror.
One of my most inspiring and freeing quotes was written in a letter from a friend over 20 years ago. She likely does not recall ever writing it. But they have given a lifetime of meaning to me.
“Hope is faith holding its hands out in the darkness.”
When I have lost hope, I recall this. When I am full of hope, I recall this. When the world around me is dark, I recall this. When the world is full of light and joy, I recall this. When I cannot seem to find my faith, I recall this.
Use those words that have brought you to life. They are a poetry that can weave into your soul for many years to come.
Related: 5 Practical Ways You Can Grow Your Faith as a Young Christian Woman.
Find Your Faith In Yourself
One of my favorite well-known passages is Psalm 139. In part, it says:
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
While we are so busy trying to conform, to blend in, God is telling us that He designed us to be complex and unique. Our personality traits are not only known to Him but orchestrated by Him. We have been woven together. We were not designed to be same.
And if we are all a chosen creation made by the decisions and hands of God, surely we can find faith in our own selves. All those things that make us tick, that make us smile. The music we love, the colors we enjoy, the clothes we feel best in.
What are your personality traits? Are you creative or conservative? Are you driven or passive? Are you introverted or extroverted? Are you a social butterfly or a wall-flower?
These things matter to Him.
No one trait is better than another. All are equal. All are important. All are necessary.
Spend time looking at yourself. Write a list of the traits you know about yourself. I love a good reflective journal session where I can jot down all the qualities I love in myself, as well as those I struggle with. I draw pictures of myself or make mind maps of my personality. I write what I believe God has created in me, the beautiful pieces He has woven together to make me who I am.
The more I discover about myself, the more I see God. The more I embrace myself, holding fervently onto the confidence of my identity, the more I find faith in this rollercoaster of life.
Take the risk of stepping out to be real, embracing your true self. It will release more in you than you realize.
Related: Finding Your Purpose
Where do you find your faith? What do you return to when your faith begins to drift away? I hope you find some helpful tips in my journey. After all, we are all in this together! I would love to hear your stories!
You can connect with me at Vintage Courage. Drop by and tell me about your journey through faith!
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