(ThyBlackMan.com) These last few weeks have been quite the battle! Spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. I’ve dealt with so many shifts in my life throughout the year. I’ve had to ask and answer some very difficult questions regarding my own spiritual practice.
I grew up in the Christian faith… I attended a Christian Academy, sung in the choir by choice, participated in each & every youth activity possible and even outside of church was able to stand in my faith among friends who felt differently or just didn’t care.
I am thankful to say my faith was never tested during my youthful years, in fact my biggest challenges of faith began to occur over the past 3 years. I’m well aware that in life there will be challenges/trials/test that we must undergo to build character as well as strengthen and renew our faith. It’s just that the last storms of my life have come one after the other, and many times while I was trying to seek shelter from the storm I was already in.
These storms led me to change many things in my life. I’m one who believes that what is meant to be comes with ease. That’s not to say we don’t have to put in work! By that I mean the first step naturally falls into place and from there we begin to put the pieces together with faith, dedication, purpose and vision. That belief led me to change many things that I had been working years to bring into fruition. Things that I had put so much time, energy, money and passion into yet was unable to get off the ground. These storms also led me to question my spiritual self and how I can better improve my relationship with God/Source/Spirit.
At one point I had undergone so many changes, so many let downs in life and so many heartbreaks that I decided to devote my life to my spiritual path. You know, something like that of a nun or a monk. Of course without having to leave my family, friends and hobbies that I’ve grown rather attached to and find great peace in. I began searching for a way to fulfill myself on a soulful level.
To my surprise & benefit, earlier this week I found myself in the right place, at the right time, with the right questions, seeking the right truth for me in my journey. I had the opportunity to attend a 3 day revival at Trinity United Methodist Church here in Stockbridge, GA whose theme for the year is “We Are Children of The Light Walking by Faith and Not By Sight”. The revival speaker was Rev. Sharad Creasman of Columbia Drive United Methodist Church of Decatur, GA. While all 3 nights hold a special place in my heart, the first nights sermon on “The Light At The End of The Tunnel” took me a few places I didn’t necessarily expect to go.
There were 3 points to getting out of the tunnel that the youthful, light body Rev. Sharad shared with us and I’d love to take this opportunity to share with you what Spirit revealed to me over these 3 nights.
1) Faith. Growing up in the church I know all too well about the importance of faith in God. We hear many things about being able to move mountains with just a mustard seed of faith. What we don’t often hear about is the faith that is needed within ourselves, faith in our own enoughness to fulfill our purpose in life. Looking back on many of the storms/challenges I’ve endured, I now realize my biggest issue was that I lacked faith in myself. I always felt to fulfill my destiny I needed to have a degree under my belt, that I needed to be more grounded in my faith, that I needed to attend church more, that I needed to be on top of my finances, basically that my life needed to be in perfect order lest I be a hypocrite in front of the people.
Never once did I stop to think that my mission, my destiny in life wasn’t about “ME”. Never once did I stop to think that God sent me here with everything I needed to fulfill my journey. Yes education/training helps to hone our skills but we come into life with what’s necessary to get the job done. Life itself is training if we learn to trust Spirit.
2) Following Immediate Instructions. This one was major for me as many times I’ve received advice from friends, family and Spirit that I either talked myself out of or put off for a later time. Of course that time never comes, we merely find time to think about when we didn’t do what we should have done when we asked, “what next, where do I go now?”. I’m learning to move immediately! To follow through once guidance is revealed to me. I think of my 11 year old daughter Jayda, who many times comes to ask my advice on homework or some other project and then does something totally different. The next time she asks I’m usually a bit hesitant to answer because the last time she didn’t listen.
While our relationship with God is different than any relationship we could have with man, I can’t help but acknowledge how I feel when asked for guidance and I take time out of my day to day life to respond and the person does the complete opposite. It makes me wonder if the one asking was seeking guidance or just an amen corner to go along with whatever they initially intended to do. Knowing is separate from “doing” and “trying” is but an excuse. No one tells a successful story of how they “tried” to do something, they either did it or they didn’t.
3) Move Forward. My spiritual gps states this is my current location. Even after faith reveals itself in God and in self, even after following immediate instructions the next thing is to move forward. Now many mistake moving forward with following instructions but the truth is you can follow instructions and still be stuck in your own web of negative thoughts and negative energy thinking about the last time things didn’t go as planned. Moving forward means that you release your past efforts as learning experiences and show gratitude for them. Moving forward means that we must be able to forgive not only others but ourselves as well. Moving forward means we now stand in a place of renewed faith, renewed spirit and renewed purpose.
Moving forward has nothing to do with knowing how you’re going to get wherever it is that you have to go. It means that you have faith in yourself and in God that you will get there. You pray and meditate for guidance then act immediately upon it trusting the process and trusting Spirit. Moving forward reveals itself through the first step, the first piece of the puzzle falling into place effortlessly.
Everyone we pass in our day to day lives has a story! Everyone has endured turmoil, everyone has undergone struggle and everyone has felt pain. The highlight of life is not being able to merely share your story… its coming to a point in life when you can share with others how to get to The Light At The End of The Tunnel.
Staff Writer; Dina Tuff
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