Sunday, May 3, 2009

Faith

Faith is something that we have had to rely on a lot this year. Our little family has had our share of joys and trials, but we believe they have all been for a reason. I think sometimes, our faith is tested to remind us that we need to rely on it a bit more than we do and later, we can look back at the situation and learn from it.

About a year ago, we were told I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with Charlie. I thought it was awful news, but really, looking back, it wasn’t that bad. I followed the rules, ate well and our Charlie was born happy and healthy. Even the doctor complimented me immediately after Charlie’s delivery about what a perfect sized baby I had carried and I control the GD with my diet – no drugs. I was proud. There were times during the end of my pregnancy that people, health professionals, told me that I couldn’t do it, but I had faith and my doctor had faith in me. I knew that I could do it for Charlie. I had faith. We believed that God would answer our prayers and bless us with a wonderful, healthy child. He far exceeded our expectations when he gave us our Charlie. We think Charlie makes the world a better place, at least for us.

We learned from my diagnosis though, how to eat better, how to read food labels better than we had and it’s helped us be more conscious of our choices. It will help us teach Charlie to make good choices, to be healthy and he will pass that on to his family someday. It’s something that over the years we had tried to do, but were never as successful as we have been recently. We learned. We had faith.

We truly believe that you don’t need to go to church each Sunday or do all of the “proper” religious traditions to have a strong faith, a relationship with God, or to be good at prayer. You just need to be faithful and trusting that He knows what He is doing and rely on Him to guide you in your life. It’s about communicating with Him and building a relationship.

We are very strong and solid in our faith and truly believe that everything, no matter how bad, happens for a reason. I’ve had things happen in my life that make me wonder why they have happened that way or at that time and eventually, I see, maybe years later, why they happened that way. I don’t have answers to some of my “why” questions yet, but I know that someday I will and when I do, I will have learned another lesson. I have faith in that.

We have faith that the trials we have encountered in the last year aren’t without purpose. There were times that I wondered why us, why now, why when our Charlie is so fresh and new are we taken from him to deal with a serious health condition for Kenny. But it’s all part of this beautiful plan that we aren’t in control of, but merely guided through. We have faith that this is all for a reason.

We have faith that we have been guided to our doctors for a reason. They are the best and we are blessed to have been sent to them. We once asked the doctor that leads Kenny’s care if this is something that has hereditary characteristics. He smiled and said “This is something that God just gave you.” Kenny and I just smiled at each other. It’s nice to know that this wonderful man has faith too.

Sometimes, this faith, the guiding, the being out of control, is hard for me. I like to be in control. I’ve strengthened my faith and I try to give up control and just allow myself to be guided. I realize there are limits to what I can control and what is completely out of my control. I still wonder though about the rest of our lives, the big decisions and the small. What will happen? Will Charlie have a brother or sister someday? When will we get a dog? When will we move to a bigger house? Will Kenny’s car projects ever get completed? I don’t have control over these things…but I have faith that someday, these answers will be before us.

Sometimes, while reading other websites or blogs, you get sucked in and you find a link to another blog and to another and so on. You find the stories of people’s lives and you realize that they too have faith, even if their trials are like yours or many times worse. You learn from their faith and belief that we are all guided to do certain things and handle certain trials in the manner that we do for a reason.

There are two blogs that I have found very interesting and uplifting. You may enjoy them too. These women who write them have given up control of their lives and are just allowing themselves to be guided. They have faith, even in awful circumstances, they have a very strong faith. It’s beautiful.

www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com
www.mycharmingkids.net

Someday, this blog, will tell the story of our life, the three of us. We will look back on this post and this time in our life and will see the lessons we have learned from our good times and our trying times. Charlie will read our story and know his past, see how loved he is and we hope, he will learn lessons from our past and his faith will grow.



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