What’s going on here…

As always, life is a series of ups and downs that causes us to rethink where we are and where we are going.  The past month has been full of these times for me and I am still processing through these questions with the hope that my faith will allow me to understand the path before me.

As someone living in a mixed faith family that includes cult-like behavior, at times it is difficult to “keep the peace” and honor my parents; however, as a Christian, my first and foremost duty is to honor them.  How does one do this when faced with challenges that seem insurmountable?  The easy and hard answer includes love, prayer, and acceptance.  Included in this is the need to forgive and move beyond the hurts of the past.

One may ask, how does forgiveness impact the future?  For me, this is self evident, but for others it may not be so evident.  Too often, hurt and anger leads us down a path that separates us from Christ and the love we need to show Christ, ourselves, our family, and others around us.  Are we aware of the times when our anger, often unknown to us, causes us to withdraw or impacts our ability to deal with difficult situations.  All too often, these situations are further influenced by those around telling us to leave those difficult situations alone.  How do we respond in these situations?  Do we realize that love must come first?  Do we embrace these challenges as times for our Christian faith to shine through or do we minimize the importance of our faith?

Life, death, illness, emotional and financial struggles, and just the day-to-day craziness of life should cause us to stop and consider which path we are taking as Christians.

Pax, Anastasia