I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stared at that black-and-white image. As if by concentrating hard enough I could see the future or make it come to life or something. But could you blame me? I was anxious. It was one of the riskiest decisions my husband and I had made. As a risk-averse person, it was pretty scary and I wanted to know if we made the right choice. If I knew that, maybe I wouldn’t be so nervous.
After all, we were basing our verdict on speculation, somebody’s ideas. There was nothing physical to see and no one really knew how it would turn out.
Being anxious
But I remember praying and asking God to show me a sign that we had made the right choice. And I made sure to listen. I went about my days looking for a sign. Any sign. An ad in the paper…an announcement on the radio…a casual reference during a weekend sermon…a dream. Anything. But there was nothing. If God would just show me the future this waiting would be so much easier. All my uncertainty would melt away and I could live in peace.
And yet He didn’t. Why would He allow me to stumble around in darkness when He could easily flip the switch to turn on the light so I know where I’m going? I didn’t think it was too much to ask.
That’s when it hit me. If God showed me the future, would I really be living in faith?
After all, faith isn’t about placing our trust in things we can see.
What is faith?
Instead,
- it’s believing and trusting when we don’t have any real evidence of anything
- it’s believing God will work out all things for our good even when everything is going horribly wrong
- it’s looking beyond circumstances
- it’s acknowledging there’s more to this life than what we see
Ultimately, faith is trusting God for a future we can’t see.
How does this relate to us?
Basically, faith is the foundation of how we raise our children.
- It believes God has a plan and a purpose for their life even if we have no idea what it is.
- It believes God chose us to be the parent of this child.
- It trusts God will give us all we need to accomplish this task.
- It knows God see’s the future. He knows how it will turn out, even if we don’t.
And that’s comforting.
As for the risk my husband and I took, everything turned out fine. Looking back, I have no idea why I was so worried. Maybe it was a lack of faith.