Today I went to an Operation Christmas Child kick off event/pep rally, and I saw many people from many churches exhibit their passion for the simple act of packing a shoe box. There were people there who have been packing shoe boxes since they were kids. There were people there who would travel for hours just to volunteer at the processing center. There were people there new to the whole thing and so excited to get involved. And it’s all voluntary.
I’m an INFP, and when I become passionate about something, I become loyal to it. Like Operation Christmas Child, child sponsorship, and chocolate (hahaha). I may not become an expert or I may not really do a lot especially compared to others, but I will continue to support my “causes.” It will take something epic to break my loyalty. Then, like Darcy, my good opinion once lost is lost forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but you know what I mean.
So when it comes to faith…on one hand, it’s like my ultimate passion. Even though I went through an epic-sized brokenness, I’m still here. I still believe. I complained a lot. I cried tears that could drown Alice. I groaned, moaned, and bemoaned like Job. But by the grace of God, I’m here.
On the other hand, an epic-sized brokenness doesn’t happen without a lot of shards. And it took a while for me to recover and reclaim some things about faith. Like learning how to pray again. Learning how to worship.
All that…I usually call it mess but it’s really life…taught me to own my faith. I can have a lot of passion for causes, people, the church, and/or the Church, but my ultimate passion needs to be and is God. Even though having faith in God means belonging to His family (it’s communal, dealing with other people, the church and Church), to own my faith is to continue being passionate for Him even if I’m doing it alone. I really am a child of God. I can’t get away from it and I never want to. Kinda like with chocolate đ
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