FAITH FOR THE UNKNOWN

Life sometimes takes strange turns and we don’t always have the time to sit and consider the pros and cons.

Even in my own life, it is sometimes still strange to think that I work for the church and do secretarial work. I was always adamant that I’m not one for administration. Adding to the mystery was the recent request from the Greymont congregation that I also be willing to be their administrator. This brought about some changes to my office hours at our church and I had to make a few adjustments to my day. If I take a moment to think about these changes, I have to admit that I'm not at all where I thought I would be 10 years ago. I have to admit that I would never have chosen this route if it was solely up to me. I would still be doing taxes and probably die doing it. It's quite boring, I know.

Today, I am grateful that life’s decisions are not exclusively up to us as humans. As I looked back at my life up to this point, there were hard decisions that had to be taken along the road, and if it were up to me, I would have responded negatively to most.

Fortunately for us, our lives are in the hands of a loving God who has planned our path with precision. Even if we take some detours, we will eventually get to the place He had in mind. We just have to learn to surrender. It's a path of faith that takes us on roads that are exciting, challenging and mostly totally unknown. These roads teach us trust in God. Trust is difficult, very difficult. Our trust is violated daily by people and we are struggling not to convey our mistrust to God. Our trust is usually as far as we can plan and manage the next few steps. If we can not rely on our own insights, we are struggling to surrender.

Faith is synonymous with trust in God who already knows everything. Trust in our Father who wants only the best for us. Trust in Jesus who walks alongside us. Trust in the Holy Spirit that we can follow His whispering without any doubt.

I want to invite you to surrender in faith. To trust that the unknown paths are to your advantage. Knowing that your own ideas of how your life should be, is not necessarily the final destination. Our Father has always had our best at heart, and sometimes it asks of us to change direction.

Richard Rohr writes in his book, The Divine Dance, "Faith does not need to push the river because faith is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing. We are in it. "

May you accept the flow of the river in your life and relax in the knowledge that God already knows where the river flows.

Love in Christ

Margaret Halgryn