What comes to your mind when you think of faith? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and the impact it has had on my life. I’ve always experienced faith as a deep inner knowing and trust that things will work out no matter what. Looking back faith has helped me to be brave and courageous despite all the doubts, worries, fears, and challenging times. A recent experience I had was leaving my full-time job to begin my new path as a life coach. If I had listened to all the logical reasons not to resign, I would still be unhappy and frustrated with a job I didn't enjoy. We trust so much in what we can see, what we have learned, and what we think. But faith is about seeing beyond what you can see, hear and touch - it’s going beyond our five senses. For me, it’s listening to my gut feeling and trusting myself.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Faith can take shape in many different ways and is a very personal experience. For one person it might be believing in something bigger than themselves - the universe, a God, or higher intelligence, for someone else it might be faith to find love again after a heartbreak or the faith to get to a better place after years of depression. The forms and shapes faith takes place in our lives is infinite, but there is something we all have in common and that is a sense of trust and belief in someone or something without proof or logical reasoning - believing and knowing in your heart because you just know it’s true or the right thing to do.
I looked up several definitions of faith and the below resonated with me the most:
2. complete trust and confidence in someone or something.
With Christmas just around the corner, the belief in someone and something is a hot topic all around the world now. As someone who loves this time of the year, I’ve been watching Christmas
movies almost every night. The common theme is usually around Santa and the belief in him and all the magic that surrounds him. It’s pretty mind-blowing that those kids believe in Santa, and his
ability to make it around all the families of the world in one night. They don’t need proof and a logical explanation. It gives them hope, makes them happy and excited and that’s all that matters. Why destroy something that doesn’t hurt anyone only to be right and prove a point?
However, this is not about Santa and if you believe in him or not. It’s about seeing beyond what you can see, hear, or touch and why having faith is so important. My faith that everything will work out at the end has been a huge part of my life and I would like to share with you the impact it has had on me and my journey so far.
It supports you through challenging times. It is the light at the end of the tunnel.
When everything seemed to fall apart, faith in better days ahead was all I had. There were moments in my life, which were incredibly challenging and frightening. One of them was 14 years ago. Just before Christmas my mum, my siblings, and I had to leave our home to save our lives. We escaped our home that was too dangerous to stay in and sought refuge in a women's shelter. In one night, everything I knew was gone and we didn’t know where we were going and what the future would look like. It was a tough and challenging time and we felt so helpless. I would lay awake at night and pray that everything will turn out well and that we will be okay in the end. So, when everything was falling apart and didn’t make sense, faith was the one thing that comforted me and that I could hold onto when the ground was literally shaking. If you experience hardship, faith is the one thing you can hold on to.
It shows you how brave and courageous you are.
Have you ever dreamt of something that was so far out of reach and then somehow, it’s right in front of you and the only thing holding you back is your fear? I had just started Uni and a flyer with study opportunities abroad landed in my hand. I read about all the different countries previous students had traveled to. But there was one that caught my eye - HAWAII. Students were writing about their experiences living and studying in Honolulu, Hawaii. Just the thought of it gave me goosebumps and I thought that would be the coolest thing ever to go there. With a bit of research and learning about the high costs involved for visas, University fees, and living costs in the USA, I quickly realized that it was out of reach. The years passed and my dream to study in Hawaii stayed in the back of my mind. I just had one semester left before I graduated and with a leap of faith, an opportunity to go to Hawaii opened. As I got closer to leaving my home for 6 months and being on my own in a foreign country, the fear, worries, and anxiety crept in. I’ve always been someone who got homesick when being away from home for a couple of weeks so the thought of being away for 6 months scared me and I was worried that I would get homesick and cancel my trip after a couple of weeks. Long story short, I choose faith over fear. I flew to Hawaii, lived there for 6 months, and had the most amazing experience. Acknowledging your fear and then still doing it because you believe in it, will show you how brave and courageous you are.
It helps you find solutions and open to abundance.
In Germany, we have the saying “den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen” which translates to “can’t see the forest for the trees”. It describes the idea of someone so concerned with the details of something that they fail to grasp the situation as a whole. Sometimes we are so invested in our difficulties and what is not working. It becomes our main point of attraction. Being coached by Bree helped me to focus more on what is possible and where I want to be. Instead of me worrying about the worst-case scenario, she taught me to ask myself, “what is the best thing that could happen?” This shift of mindset and faith in the best-case scenario opened new doors for me. It doesn't mean to ignore potential obstacles and the risks of what could go wrong, but it’s also looking at the other side to see the whole picture. Faith helps you to see through the difficulties and find solutions for what you really want deep down.
“Faith sees the invisible, believes in the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” Corries Ten Boom
I could go on with examples of how faith can show up in our lives and the difference it makes, but I want to be mindful of time. I would love to hear about your experience and relationship with faith. For me, it’s a huge part of my growth and has created a special connection with myself, which has strengthened over the years.
To put it simply, faith is believing in myself, letting go of control, and trusting my inner voice.
xoxo
Katharina