A little delayed again… 2022 has brought some challenges learning to balance new types of ideas and projects, but I’m thankful that God has been patiently reminding me to turn to Him with each one.
This post was published about a month ago on Madison Aichele’s blog. Madison has a beautiful heart for encouraging others through difficult seasons, and it was from this that she started a series on her blog called “Everyday Faith, Extraordinary God”.
I was invited to share this piece below, but I’d encourage you to read the other stories included in the series as well. The full posts can be found here.
Excerpt from Simple Faith Through Complicated Seasons
Complicated seasons get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. During them, though, we can feel pressured to be something we’re not—almost like the strength of our faith is going to determine how our season ends.
That’s how I used to think about faith until I was met with a season where I didn’t have the strength to work my way out on my own. Instead, I learned a precious lesson: simple faith is enough for complicated seasons.
This story begins about six years ago. I went to a Christian college, and most of the people around me wanted to do something ministry-related. I wanted to as well but was led to pursue a business degree.
As it came time to graduate, I received a job offer from my church and it was everything I thought I wanted. I was so excited!
A couple different people around that time suggested I pray about it first. Both of their exact words were: “Just because something looks perfect doesn’t mean it’s the right thing.”
My mind was made up, but I prayed just to be sure. Soon, though, it was clear that I actually needed to take a different job back home – in business.
Trading Dreams For The Motions
Something unexpected happened that summer which made the season sting a little more. I was getting ready to start my master’s in Ministerial Leadership, but I was so depressed that I could barely bring myself to church some Sundays. Instead, I would bring my Bible outdoors and read in the peaceful quiet.
As time went on, I didn’t spend much time dreaming. I spent a lot of time just trying to make it through. I would move from work to homework to dealing with this other issue. It was numbing after a while.
Little did I know, God was using the topics of my classes each semester to guide me to necessary changes. In His mercy, He corrected me where I was wrong. He brought me out of what I was going through step by step, even when I couldn’t see how anything could possibly change.
It’s special being able to write this today. Right around this time five years ago, I was telling God that I was going to trust Him and put everything I was dealing with in His hands. Literally giving it up because I didn’t know what else to do with it. I had already done everything I knew to do, but it was still falling apart.
It felt like the heaviness would never change even if my circumstances did, but I kept telling myself: “No matter how bad it feels, anything can get better with God. He can change anything in a day.”
I didn’t have mountaintop-looking faith. In fact, some days the only prayer I could muster out was, “Help me.”
But He did.
Patience Through The Waiting
Mingled in the healing and learning, there were stretches where it felt like nothing was changing. Life wasn’t exciting, and if anything, there were moments that were just plain frustrating. None of that meant God wasn’t working, though.
As more time went on, I gained greater appreciation for stories of waiting in the Bible. While we talk more frequently about mountaintop moments, moments of everyday faith were important enough to be recorded in Scripture, too.
Paul’s story is one that I love. A part of…
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