Faith Steps

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

This past December my father-in-law graciously had a garage built next to our cabin in western North Carolina. It looks like a barn, so Julia and I like to pretend we’re real country girls by referring to it as “the barn.” Julia of course wishes that we really could put horses in there but instead it houses an old truck, tools and a bunch of wood. There is a loft in “the barn” but instead of having the contractors build a staircase, David and his dad wanted to build it themselves.

“How are you going to build a staircase?” I asked. David answered, “one step at a time.” And that’s what they did. They put together the first step, then the next, then the next and so on. After some time there was a sturdy, good-looking staircase up to the loft.

Our challenge for the folks at Spring of Life this year is to ask yourselves, “What is your next step?” What is your next step in your journey with Christ? You can’t just take one or two steps on a staircase and reach your final destination. You have to keep taking one step at a time.

I love the quote above by Martin Luther King, Jr. reminding us that we’re called to take steps in our faith even when we’re not sure where we’re going or how it’s going to turn out. That’s the essence of having faith in God.

If you’re unsure about your next step in faith, here are a couple of tools that might help:

1. Sunday, February 5 (which is Superbowl Sunday for those of you that don’t have this marked on your calendars!) we will be asking folks at Spring of Life to “Get In the Game.” We will be highlighting different ways you can serve at Spring of Life. There will be people there to answer questions you might have about these opportunities to serve and help get you started.

2. Have you thought about the unique ways that God has gifted you to serve? If not, a helpful thing to do is to take a spiritual gift assessment. This is a simple tool to help you think about how God has gifted you, so that when you take your next step, it can be in an area that really interests you. Go to this link on the United Methodist Church website to learn more about spiritual gifts and take an assessment. It only takes a few minutes.

We look forward to journeying with you.