Does that define me and who I am? You bet it does.
Is it a negative thing? You better believe it's not!
I am proud to be a Lutheran. I am proud of my religion. I am proud of my religious beliefs. I am proud of my faith.
It defines me. My faith is strong. My faith is me.
Religion has played a huge role in my life. Heck, my oldest friend is someone I met through our church. There have been many times in my life that I have depended on my faith and my religion to get me through. If it weren't for my religious upbringing, I do not know if I would be who I am today. I would not have the same values. I wouldn't have the same beliefs. I would not be me.
I remember back in high school I went on a trip with my youth group called Rock and Roll. It was a weekend long rock climbing, river rafting and God worshipping weekend in Anacortes, WA.
It. Was. Awesome.
The day we went rock climbing, we split up in three groups. My group was the middle group and we attempted to tackle one of the harder climbs, The Joker. We had something called an "open book." Not an easy quest. I was the second person to attempt to climb the Joker. I did great until I got to the open book. Now, the open book was just that. Rocks that came together and looked like an open book, but there were about six and a half feet tall or so. I was on a ledge trying my hardest to make it to the top. I am 5'6" with no vertical.....you do the math. I struggled. I jumped. I fell. I got pushed away from the rock. Our guide asked me if I wanted to come down, if I was ready to give up.
Heck NO!
I was determined. I stood there, sweaty and exhausted and I prayed. I put my faith in God to guide me up the open book and get to the top of the Joker. Then the guide gave me one piece of advice and I turned my body sideways, put my hands in the crack of the open book and climbed sideways up the open book. Before I knew it, I was at the top. I had made it to the top of the rock.
Holy crap.
When I got to the top, the lead counselor, Aaron, was waiting. He congratulated me. Then I started to cry. Why? I am not the emotional person. It takes a lot to make me cry. It took everything I had in me to make it to the top of the giant rock. It took more than what I had alone. It took me relying on my faith, it took me relying on God to get me to the top of the rock. It took me believing in myself, trusting myself, trusting a higher power for me to conquer this challenge.
And I did it. And this is what I saw:
This is just a small, fun example of my faith. I could list many more, but this was one thing that I challenged me. I have been a person who gives up on something when it gets hard. I shut down and can shut others out. It's quite damaging to myself, but this situation I didn't.
Having faith gives me hope. It provides comfort to me when I need it. It provides guidance for me when I cannot see the way. It provides an answer when I think there is none. Faith is amazing.
God is a rock. Rock on God.
Today, faith, I am thankful for you.
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