by Candy Paull
It is good to affirm your faith on any day, but it’s especially valuable to affirm faith on a day when doubts cloud your mind. Sow in faith and trust that one day you will reap in joy. Wait patiently like a farmer who has sown seeds, letting the natural processes of life bring your garden of faith to perfect fruition in good time.
You can choose an optimistic attitude toward life. Optimism can be cultivated by an act of faith. Faith is a choice, not an argument. Every thought you think colors your experiences, so choose your thoughts carefully. Negative thoughts that hold us back include: I can’t, I won’t, it’s not fair, it won’t work, it’s too hard, I’m not good enough. Optimistic thoughts help us make positive choices. Choose to replace negative thoughts with positive, empowering thoughts like: I can, it’s possible, I’ll give it a try, I am able to do this, I can make this work.
Celebrate even a simple baby step of faith, knowing it will lead you to where you need to go. Pray about your plans, hopes, and dreams. Trust that everything can work together to bring you closer to your goal, even when setbacks occur. Whatever the outcome, you’ll learn something new and valuable.
Second guessing, trying to control outcomes, or playing it safe can be deadening to the spirit. Take risks and trust. Go ahead and do something you want to do but are afraid to try. Be proactive and leave the final results in God’s hands. Overcome your fears by sowing seeds of faith.
Facing Down the Meltdowns
I have experienced my own life crises and survived. When the financial meltdown of 2008 came, I had a meltdown of my own. A combination of health issues, family issues, and the disappearance of work in the publishing industry, freelance writing that had sustained me for almost twenty years, meant that I had trouble paying my bills. Once it had been easy to generate funds through freelance projects, but the publishing industry was in crisis and all work had dried up. It was also nearly impossible to find a day job, even a low-paying one. I faced many challenges during this time.
One of those challenges was keeping my home. When I couldn’t pay my mortgage, I applied for a home loan modification. Because I was a freelancer reinventing myself in an industry reinventing itself—and because I couldn’t find a day job—I had a lot of explaining to do on my loan application, which was no small task to complete. On January 7, I called my lender to check on the status of my application. The customer service representative said, “Congratulations. You have received the temporary home loan modification and your first payment is due February 1. And your house is in foreclosure and the auction date is February 2.”
Trust Life Itself
There are times when even your best efforts fail. Sometimes the most powerful way to deal with a challenge is to stop trying to control events, other people, yourself—and even God. Quit fighting what’s happening. Let go of your tight grip and open your hand. Once you admit that you are at the end of your own resources, you make room for life to step in and work a miracle. Unclench your fist and open your hand. Trust life itself to bring what you most need.
I had never been so frightened in my life. I was about to lose my home: I had no money and nowhere to go. However, other forces were at play behind the scenes, and just as buying my home in the first place was a string of miracles, so keeping my home became a string of miracles. A wise friend counseled me to pray and affirm that it was my home and to focus on being in the energy of having it remain my home. This friend had already beaten impossible odds when her husband became ill and they went into financial meltdown. She was able to keep her home in similar circumstances. Friends and family were praying for me. A gift of money from an unexpected source gave me the funds to make the first payment on the modification immediately.
I also received help from a wonderful housing counselor. When I did finally receive my permanent home loan modification, my counselor marveled and told me, “You are a walking miracle. I have never seen anyone in your financial condition get one of these modifications.” And so it has gone ever since, as there were more struggles and more miracles manifested in the coming years. I kept my home. My career prospects improved.
Meditate through Your Crisis
I learned some important lessons in facing crises and challenges. The very first was the rock-bottom dependence on God—on a Higher Power. And that is expressed in affirmative prayer when I can think straight. And when I am totally overwhelmed, I meditate. I had been meditating seriously for over a year when this big crisis hit. Though I did rant, rave, and cry when the crisis was upon me, I knew in my bones that anger, fear, and emotional storms would swamp me. I would go into my meditation position and sit until I became clear again. I dropped all judgments of the situation, accepting that it was what it was and that regrets or anticipation were both useless. I moved into the moment and into the deep stillness. Then I took the next step, however small that might have been. I listened for guidance, and guidance came.
Bring into play the almighty power within you, so that on the stage of life you can fulfill your high destined role.
—Paramahansa Yogananda
I practiced staying calm, putting my thoughts in abeyance, focusing only on the moment and on whatever task I had to do. If I woke up in the middle of the night with cold chills of fear in my body and nightmarish scenarios running around in my mind, I released them and meditated myself to sleep again. The only medication I took was meditation and my essential oils to help calm and ground me. My job was to get quiet, listen, do the next step, and trust. No commentary. No excuses. No speculation. No worrying. Just be, set an intention, then do what seemed intuitively appropriate at the moment. Meditate, pray, and serve.
You can also do this in times of crisis. When storms arise, there is a still, small voice that will speak, “Peace, be still.” And peace will attend—even in the midst of fear and danger and sorrow. When that peace reigns in your heart, then you can stand, even in the midst of swirling chaos. I have learned that we all have access to that trustworthy inner guidance, but the way we live and the world around us usually drown it out. Train yourself to listen in the quiet times, then you will hear the voice of guidance in the midst of chaos and stress.
If I keep emphasizing the power of affirmative prayer and intention, meditation and staying in the moment, it is because I have experienced it as the center of an authentic power that cannot be moved or shaken. If you can listen and be present and enter that stillness and silence within, then you will find the help you need. You will be transformed within, and if you choose this inner way of life, your outer life will also be transformed. It doesn’t have to take a crisis. It will simply be your decision to trust in Something/Someone who is larger than you, and your commitment to hear what whispers in the silence. It is comfort and guidance beyond words, beyond concepts, beyond explanations. If you seek it, you will find it. This sweet, still Presence is always seeking you. I know this with every cell of my being for I have found it to be true in my own life.
Take the Next Step in Faith
An unexpected detour stopped you in your tracks. Losses, layoffs, deaths, sudden changes—life takes its toll, and you begin to be afraid that the golden highway of life has turned into a dark and dangerous dead end. But a bend in the road is not the end of the road. Sometimes the only thing you can do is take the next step and keep going. Move into a deeper trust and believe that even in this loss you will be shown the way.
Here are some of the affirmations that have helped me in times of crisis:
There is that within me that knows what to do and how to do it.
Be still and know that I AM God. Be still and know that I AM.
Thank You for helping me. Thank You.
I release. I surrender. No judgment. No attachment.
I bless this now. This, too, will pass.
I enter into the Silence. I live in the Presence.
I am safe. One step at a time. I take no thought. I release.
God’s way is safer than a known way.
I am enough in this momen
t. God is my Source.
Remember that you can only control how you respond. You are not responsible for the end result, nor are you responsible for the choices others make. You are only responsible for your thoughts, your attitude, and your actions. Results will vary, as each circumstance is unique; each interrelationship of event, timing, and people involved will create its own solutions. The solution is inherent in the problem, unfolding moment to moment, choice by choice. How you respond to what is here right now will determine what will be. You are always making choices, and each choice will evolve from the last.
Life is change, growth, loss, and rebirth. So what are you going to do with the one life you have? Focus on the innate wholeness, perfection, and completion of the moment, and on your deepest inner self. Your inner authority not only calms stormy seas, it also sets you free to be spontaneous, flexible, open to new ideas and options. If you can learn to relax your rigid reactions and train yourself to flow with the energy of life, life will unfold with greater ease and grace. You will more easily reflect your essential nature, which knows how to flow with and adapt to the changing seasons of life.
Honor and Bless Memories
There is a sad liberation that comes with loss. It becomes an opportunity to resurrect a new life, a life that may be very different but still can be a good life that blesses others. If you accept the gifts that a new life has to offer, you will honor the old life because you were not afraid to move on in the flow of change.
When inevitable changes come, the old life dies. Summer has its season, autumn has its beauties, and winter will finally come. When the snows of winter bury what’s left, we have to accept that life moves on. We can choose to cling to the past, but it does not honor the past. Spring does come. The apple blossoms are eternal. They are always new, yet always the same. Life will not allow us to stand still. Since life itself pushes us forward, let us move forward with grace.
Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it.
—Anaïs Nin
As each new season begins, you can choose to honor and bless the memory of what has come before. Your experiences, good and bad, help you learn a deeper appreciation for the changing seasons of life. You can grow and evolve as you, too, make your contribution to the greater good. Choose life knowing that there is a gift of abundance in every moment—if you are willing to look for it. There is new good to create and share. Honor the goodness of the past by choosing to create new possibilities for good now and for the future. If you are still alive, then there is a meaningful contribution you can make to life. Your choices bless and honor the past even as they embrace the possibilities of the future.
Activity: Accept What Is
You can waste a lot of energy fighting the facts. You may be sick or have financial limitations. You might have had a misunderstanding with a friend or loved one. Your job might not be as fulfilling as it once was. Accepting that these conditions exist is not admitting defeat. It is acknowledging what you have to work with. Surrender your disappointment to a Higher Power. Accepting the limitations of human life can be an act of trust, and simply observing what is without judgment can be a powerful inner practice. It is easier to embrace life as it is rather than to continue resisting and rebelling. Your acceptance frees you to trust in the God who can transcend your limitations. Allow room for creative responses to arise instead of holding on tightly to either/or scenarios. Being aware of the realities in a situation helps you cope with difficulties. Like a great ship setting its sails to take advantage of the wind no matter which direction it blows, your life is moved in positive directions by choosing to make the best of whatever comes. When you have faced and accepted what is, you can make wiser choices in every situation.
Three Affirmations
I get quiet. I trust Life. I take the next step. Grace unfolds.
God makes a way where there is no way.
I am guided moment by moment. I am led step by step.
This is what I have learned. Within the sorrow, there is grace. When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open. And in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature.
—Wayne Muller
Life is filled with paradoxes. Death is a mystery that makes life even more precious. Sorrow can break the heart wide open. As the shell of a seed must be broken open to allow new life to emerge, so we discover that the losses and sorrows we thought would destroy us become the place where new life begins. The round of seasons continually reminds us of death and dormancy, rebirth and resurrection. Autumn’s fading glory gives way to the stony gray and sere browns of winter. Then spring emerges in tender green spears and delicate blossoms, merging into the lush growth of the summer’s fruitful bounty. The symphony of the seasons is echoed in the seasons of our own lives.
We are all mortal. Nothing lasts forever. When troubles come, we have a choice—let troubles destroy us or transform us. The losses may seem overwhelming, but the love and life at the center of our being are more powerful than any sorrow or darkness.
Bless the pain you feel and the promise of potentialities you cannot see. The human spirit is larger than you yet comprehend, able to transform the unspeakable into a gift to life. Believe that a time of trouble is not an end but a beginning if you are willing to choose life in the midst of your tribulations.
Embrace Life
We can choose to allow life’s natural energies to flow in life-giving and supportive ways. When we learn to overcome our fears and access the inner capacity that knows what to do and how to do it, we align ourselves with renewal. Life is change and evolution, and we can choose how we will respond in the midst of life’s challenges.
It takes courage to choose life. A small transforming choice multiplied by daily practice and nurtured by continued affirmative thought and prayer can change the trajectory of a life. We often settle for a limited life. Whether it is the well-worn path of family or societal expectations or our own self-doubt and fears that hold us back from more expansive lives, the result is still the same. We end up living lives that may be comfortable and predictable but that never fulfill our potential for greatness. Confronting our mortality and walking through the valley of the shadow of death with a loved one can be a wake-up call, reminding us that as long as we are here living on Earth, we have the power to grow and change.
No matter how much you might like to dig yourself a hole, crawl in, and pull the earth over to cover you like a blanket, you cannot. Life insists on going on. You can choose to numb yourself with addictive behaviors. You can waste a lot of time in denial, pretending that the pain doesn’t exist or avoiding the questions you don’t want to ask. You can blame others, get angry, and try to deny that there is anything wrong. But a chocolate binge, a drug trip, a tirade against the injustices of life, a hysterical fit, or a plunge into depression eventually leads you back to square one: How do I find meaning in the losses that break my heart? How can I put my life back together again into a healing new pattern?
What makes you feel more alive? What seeds of faith can you sow today that will contribute to life, make things better, express your uniqueness as an individual? Think of what you love. Does the life you live reflect your most authentic priorities? Are you willing to release old limitations and roles to embrace a richer, more deeply satisfying way of being in this world? Instead of allowing grief to overwhelm you, open your arms to life. Have the courage to choose a life you love instead of settling for a pale imitation of the real thing. Be willing to fashion a better world with your mind and hands and heart. Be courageously creative. The courageous choice sets you free. Life is more meaningful and beautiful if you are willing to follow your heart. The life-affirming choice begets life.
Even if you cannot see how conditions can change for the better, trust that your intentional choice begins a chain reaction that will create greater good. Remember that all things
are possible, if you dare to believe. Say yes to life right now. Affirm the unseen good that is potentially here. This time of trouble can lead to something meaningful and wonderful if you are willing to look beyond today’s shadows and trust that more good awaits. Trust that Infinite Intelligence can make all things work together for the highest good for all if you are willing to do your part. Do you give yourself permission to do what you love? Are you willing to step out in faith and say yes to what you love and yes to life? When you let love lead the way, you allow grace to support you through every season of life.
Sing Your Own Song of Life
Music has always made me feel more alive. It has been at the center of most of the choices I have made that were affirmations of life and expanding possibility. As a little girl, I would dance around the living room to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral Symphony. When I became a teenager, I adored the pop music of the sixties. It was so full of the exuberance and idealism of youth. I enjoyed drama in high school, but when I had to choose between drama and being part of a church choral group, the choral group won. I loved singing in those old Ralph Carmichael, Jimmy Owens, and Kurt Kaiser musicals. I spent another summer in college traveling across the country with the Lutheran Evangelical Movement Gospel Crusaders. I learned to play guitar and sing folk songs. Music grew ever more important in my life over the years. I was a buyer for the music department in a Christian bookstore in the early eighties, which marked a decade that saw the rise of the contemporary Christian music genre. It was a golden era for me as I began cowriting songs and attended the Christian Artists Seminar in Estes Park, Colorado. I found long-term cowriting relationships in Seattle and began a long-distance cowriting relationship with an established Nashville songwriter. I was involved in church and arts organizations and finally chose to move to Nashville in 1993 in pursuit of my musical dreams. Now I have a collection of my own songs, and recording them is part of my dream for future adventures in music.
