Choosing Faith Over Fear
Choosing faith over fear is a transformative decision that fuels resilience and growth.While fear immobilizes and restricts, faith unlocks untapped potential and fosters courage.
Embracing faith doesn't of course guarantee an absence of challenges, difficulties or disappointments, but it empowers us to confront those uncertainties with an unwavering determination that something greater is in the works guiding, supporting us.
When faith guides actions, it illuminates a path through darkness, instilling hope and inspiring us to move through, not avoid, limitations, challenges.
During these next winter months, I invite you to look for areas in your life where you can loosen the grip around fear and choose faith and see what happens. My hope and prayer is that you will discover an immense strength from within and thrive through life's uncertainties. Please share in the contact section if you find this practice helpful on your journey.
An adoption story of faith.
Matthew 7:24
"All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rains come in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won't collapse for it is built on rock."
Life is about being prepared for whatever comes your way. Being ready for the curve balls, the storms, the joys and the disappointments. Standing on a solid foundation describes a prospective adoptive couple who began the process to adopt for a second time. They had an unwavering belief that they were going to have children through the blessing of adoption. The mom took the lead on creating a profile of their current lives, with pictures and stories and distributed it far and wide. She wanted as many people as possible thinking about them as a home for another child. Toll free phone number was installed so a prospective birth mother could contact them. They waited for months.
In December, the special phone rang. Eagerly the phone was answered and the conversation about this divine connection began. Unsure of what would happen next, this couple did not allow fear to sneak in. Faith took the leading role and once again this couple leaned on the power of the rosary in their life. That evening, after this fateful call, the rosary was prayed with thankfulness, joy and excitement of what was to come next.
Shortly after, they chose a date to meet, and after many conversations and learning as much as we could about each other, they learned that they were chosen to be the parents of the child she was carrying. Difficult to put into words all the emotions experienced in that given moment and the next seven months together. The strength, courage and compassion of this birth mother was well beyond her age.She was so incredibly brave and looked at her big picture of life and knew she only wanted the best for her child and knew she was too young to care for a child. Two days later she said goodbye through tear streaked eyes. She knew she was making the best decision for her child. Such a strong young woman whose character can never be doubted.
To this day they all say that it was their solid faith, built on a rock, then and still today, that got them through that time in their life. This is a story of love. This is a story of faith. The coming together of birth parents, birth grandparents, adoptive mom and dad, extended family and child. It's a story of people whose foundations are built upon a rock.
"For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against the house, it won't collapse."
Surely, this house is built on a solid rock.
