Relentless Faith

Being in my 40’s I find myself reflecting on my life and all of the things that I’ve gone through good and bad. And during my reflections, the thought of my Grandma Beck comes to mind. My Grandma Beck led a long life and what she taught me the most is strength and the relentless faith that she had in God. What do I mean by “relentless faith?” It’s that unyielding faith– that faith that won’t stop no matter what your circumstances are. A well-known pastor stated in a sermon that I heard once, that “Faith is a critical force that pushes out of the natural to the supernatural.” He also said, “Faith is when you trust him even when you can’t trace him.” That’s the kind of faith that my grandmother had. My grandmother always thanked God and gave him praise for everything in her life. She trusted in him in spite of whatever was going on in her life. Grandma Beck didn’t always have it easy. I mean she had a husband and was the mother of 10 children. She cleaned houses to help put food on the table and clothes on my mother and siblings backs. She and my grandfather may not have had much financially, but what they lacked financially they made up for with love and nurturing. I know that she and grandfather struggled at times and even in the midst of those struggles she still did not lose her faith. When my grandmother lost her soul mate, her husband, her friend-she still had faith and trusted that God knew what he was doing. When she lost some of her children through the years she still had faith and trusted God. I have to believe that my grandmother lived to be 102 because of her “relentless faith” in God.

I remember one Sunday my pastor Dr. Craig L. Oliver preached on the topic, “When life has pushed you above your limits.” Like most of his sermons, this sermon happened to be right on point for me.  The jest of his sermon was basically letting us know that, “life will unfold tragedy and trials for all of us and that we should not be amazed by these troubles that will unfold for all of us.” My friend if you haven’t experienced any troubles…keep on living you will. Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not wishing anything bad on you…I’m just saying that you too will experience challenges and obstacles. Often times I know that I personally have felt like I just will not be able to handle the trials or troubles that have reared their ugly head into my life. As I mentioned in my previous post, 2012 was rough as it relates to losing loved ones. I just wanted the death and sadness to end. I also can remember when I was going through my layoff situations-I just wanted that to end. I was tired of being broke and not being able to pay my bills.  I remember when I’ve had challenges on my job in which I wish that co-worker would just disappear from my life forever!!! While this is not a serious struggle, but it is a “challenge for me” the longing for marriage and children and time keeps passing me by. All of us have trouble, trials, challenges and sometimes they can get the best of us if we let them. One thing I can say about my grandmother is that, you NEVER knew what she was going through because she NEVER complained…now here’s the shouting part…..in the midst of what we are going through God is right there with us. He is able to turn our circumstances around – if we trust and have faith in him. I’m sure that you hear folks say, “The devil is busy.” Right? Well truth be told, it’s not always the devil who is bringing these troubles to your life. Some times it’s God. Now, I know your thinking, “Really Kim…God?” Yes, God.  As Pastor Oliver says, “God allows us to go through some things so that we have a BUT God experience.” A but God experience is when you realize that if it wasn’t for God or “but God” I wouldn’t have come out of that situation like I did. Or if it wasn’t’ for God I wouldn’t have been able to hold my tongue and not cuss out my co-worker. Or if it wasn’t for God I would have never had the patience to wait on who he had designed especially for me. Or if it wasn’t for God, even though I got tired of going on all of these interviews, but I just needed to hold on because God had the perfect job for me.

The death of my grandmother made me look at myself – and caused me to question the type of woman who I was and the type of woman I wanted to be. Grandma Beck had a kind heart and a beautiful spirit. I rarely saw her upset or without a smile on her face. She made others feel like that they had special connections with her. I realized that I wanted to be a woman who had a stronger faith and a kinder spirit and I knew that those characteristics were something that I wanted to embody as I continue on this journey called life.

So I’m here to tell you that no matter what you are going through, remember God’s got you because he said he would, and knowing that should bring you peace!