Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark. ~Rabindranath Tagore
I think faith must be part of the learning requirement to pass through this life. We are born not really mobile, we must learn to roll over, sit, stand and walk independantly. As a new mother, watching my child learn to do these things was very moving to me. She fell all the time learning to walk, but there was never a hint of discouragement, she had faith that she could do it.
When we marry someone, we walk into the unknown... we must have faith in ourselves and faith in our mate and we must remain faithful... part of faith is loyalty.
When we try to overcome those things that set us back and keep us down, we must have faith. I love this verse from Ether 12:27..."And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then I will make weak things become strong unto them."
Emily Dickenson spoke of faith in this way...
I never saw a moor, I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven;
I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given.
There is one other bit of wisdom on faith that I truly love... There is a little speech given from uncle to nephew in the movie Secondhand Lions, that goes like this:
"Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honor, courage and virtue mean everything ; that power and money ... money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil. And I want you to remember this.... that love....true love never dies ! Remember that boy ... remember that. Doesn't matter if it is true or not, a man should believe in those things , because those are the things worth believing in...... got that ? "
Faith is, in my opinion, a spiritual gift, but it is also a choice. In the book of Malachi the Lord says, "...prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Can that be anything but an invitation to choose faith?
Whether choosing to put faith in a person or a church or in diety..to put faith in the things, people and doctrines that are worth the effort, worth the sacrifices, worth the patience required seems like wisdom to me.
*not my image above
5 comments:
I love Secondhand Lions and that quote. So much wisdom. The poem has always been a favorite, also. Thanks for the reminders!
I too love the Secondhand Lions quote. It ties in nicely with "Big Fish." Nice post, Tiff!
I love this post. thanks for the uplifting thoughts. I'm working on having more faith. Especially working on faith that my kids will grow up to be decent human beings... they back-talk and throw fits way too much these days... and I'm also working on faith in myself that I won't ruin them or squelch their firey spirits too much. Any tips on these things?
Sheesh, I have seen you mothering your children and you are a better and more patient mom than I am.. and then there's E and he's a fabulous dad and a wonderful example. Your kids are going to turn out fantastic!
Fantastic huh? Well I don't know about that, but I know you are a pretty smart girl so I'll try to have faith in prediction :).
It's been one of those weeks, you know when you feel like your talking to the wall... ? better days are ahead!
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