MAY 26, 2013 BALANCE and Spiritual Wellness, the thought of being bold.

Psalm 46:  12”The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”

The busy-ness of the week is a fitting finish to this series on “Balance and …”.  I am just getting around to posting this blog from last week’s sermon for a variety of reasons.

The first is that I have written this post about one hundred times in my head, and struggled every time with the thought of being bold in my faith.

My reluctance to declare my faith stems from the desire not to discuss politics or religion; because I feel my opinions can and should remain private.

So how can I be bold in my spirituality?  I think I have taken a pretty bold step to come back to Christianity, to attend Church and to commit myself to understanding the Bible and the Word of God. This was precipitated by acknowledging first, a Higher Power, and then coming back into the fold of God’s love and the recognition of Jesus as my Savior.  It took a crisis and then an act of faith to come back.  I felt pretty much forsaken-my own abilities to remedy the situation had failed me in my relationships, and I had to acknowledge that life wasn’t going the way I was directing it. 

Re-read that last sentence.  It is the heart of any crisis of faith. And the giving over to God is critical to being faithful.

I am taking baby steps here.  I can’t put the bumper sticker on my car.  I am just inching forward in telling friends and acquaintances about attending church.  I feel like a rank beginner in learning about the Bible and God’s ways.  I marvel at how others seem to just call up the words to speak with God and how prayer comes so naturally, or so it seems to me. 

I will start my day by declaring love and gratitude for what is before me, for the beauty of the world around me, for the loves of my life. 

And it is with wonder that I can be a witness to a child being baptized, which happened at Covenant last Sunday.  Not a baby held safely by mother and father, but a child who is aware of the adults around him- and who is just starting this same journey. This wonder from the ritual of Baptism is a place where I can start.

I am, a Renewed Christian.