Child Like Faith

When I was a child, I had dreams where I was flying; I would fly over the playground of my school. I flew over to my neighbor's house and saw what they had for breakfast; they were so vivid and real that I remembered running outside as fast as I could, ready to lift up and fly. I would even jump to get a good lift off the ground. I had complete faith that I could fly just as in my dreams. I had another dream that I could breathe underwater, so real that I tried it multiple times while awake. I would submerge my head underwater in the bathtub and try to breathe. I laugh even while writing this; I didn't just try it once. Even after the intense burning and coughing of just sucking water down my nose, I continued to try it. The dream was so real, and it felt so natural to breathe underwater; surely, I could do it. I was determined, and I believed. I remember how pure and magical the world was as a child. Running under the black night sky full of stars, the hope, the excitement, I was ready. I was going to fly. I never got discouraged when I didn't take off into the sky; I knew I would try again another time.

Even as I write this, I vividly remember those dreams, and I wouldn't be against running under the stars at full speed, ready to lift off again if that is what God directed me to do. The exhilaration and joy in hope, even amidst all odds. Do we, as adults, even give hope a chance anymore? No, we would immediately dismiss it; we wouldn't even put on our shoes, let alone walk out the door. Let alone go outside and run full speed down the road with our arms out, looking up to the sky and jumping over and over. Can you imagine all the thoughts that would run through your mind, "What am I doing? What if someone sees me? What would they think?"

As a mother now, If I saw one of my boys sticking their head underwater trying to breathe, I wouldn't know whether to laugh, cry, or be seriously concerned. If I saw an adult trying to do this, I would definitely be concerned. If it doesn't make sense in the natural world, we immediately dismiss it and reason against it. We celebrate movies where hope against hope, those who never give up find victory. We celebrate in testimonials from afar, but then, when real challenges come into our lives or our loved ones, we reason, we doubt, and we have "realistic hope" How incredibly sad that is! Throughout this journey, I discovered the difficulty humans have in genuine belief, myself included, and, if not recognized, how quickly we can discourage and kill the fragile beauty of hope in ourselves and others.

My husband and I call someone who does this a "candle blower outer," They don't leave room for hope or the miraculous. We vowed to be ever so mindful not to do that to others and hold each other accountable. We didn't want to be "realistic."

As humans,we analyze, compartmentalize, and put people and things in a box based on past experiences, which we then base our present and future circumstances on this perceived reality. God can and will do new things in our lives if we listen to Him. We hold onto God and our hopes in His specific promises that He has given us. When the cancer diagnosis went from stage 1 to stage 4, I was very quiet with the world, and when asked, I only spoke of what God had promised me, and I spoke of healing. I didn't talk about what the doctors had said or my current reality because God had promised me otherwise, and I believed Him. I would listen to God over any man, regardless of their degree. I know my doubts, the lies that would creep in, and how often I had to renew my mind with God's words and promises. I didn't expect others to be able to do the same, and sometimes, even though we as humans mean for the best in the efforts of being realistic, even in our prayers, having "realistic hope" I found can be very hurtful and discouraging to someone who is living only by their hope in God's promises. That is why I kept my world so small during these trials. I had enough struggle combating a few of the doctors as they were very much "candle blower outers" I didn't want the same experience with anyone else outside of my inner circle of family and faith-based friends. When you make decisions based on what God has told you instead of what doctors tell you, you get the same looks and reactions as if they just found you with your head underwater, trying to breathe.

With children, I wonder when we start impressing upon their hearts to be more realistic as we slowly smolder out the light of miracles, belief, and the ability to hold hope with joy and excitement. We tell ourselves that we are protecting them from disappointment and to learn the realities of the world. We call it imagination, and it's acceptable when they are little, but at what age is it no longer appropriate? What if being child-like is precisely what God calls us all to be, no matter what age we are? To not analyze, try to understand with our natural minds but to trust Him entirely without any thoughts of doubt because if God said it, then it's so. To take Him at face value for exactly what He says and hold on to His promises with pure, innocent, child-like faith. To run after that promise, knowing God will give us the wings to fly if that is what He has called us to do.

I want to clarify the difference between child-like faith and blind faith; not knowing the difference can be dangerous. As children, we look up to the adults in our lives for everything: protection and love, to sustain and guide us. We are seeking their will, approval, and learning day by day. We need them to survive and live a healthy life. Child-like faith is looking up to our Heavenly Father for everything. We need Him to survive and thrive and have a truly healthy life. With a deep relationship with Him comes guidance, direction, His love, and provision, and it's based on doing His will, not ours. When we go to Him in child-like faith, He gives us the gifts of wisdom and discernment to guide us so we can walk in faith and obedience. His promises come with the perfect plan HE has for our lives. Not what we have planned for our lives. Sometimes, when your world is falling apart, it is Him reconfiguring everything for you. When you learn His nature and know He is all-knowing and all-loving, you can lean into Him and trust Him with child-like faith anywhere He leads you, even if it doesn't make sense in the natural world.

With blind faith, it is based on our will, our wishes, and our dreams. It is good to have dreams, but who placed it there? Is this something God has guided you to? We desperately want something, so we pray and hope God will give it to us and bless us simply because we want it. Blind faith can be a slippery slope to denial and an unwillingness to lean into what God is truly trying to do in you and in your life. If we are so set in our wants and desires, we are not coming to Him in submission and trust. We risk only hearing what we want to hear. God challenges, refines, and changes us for a redemptive purpose, and even though it can be scary and heartbreaking, we need to lean into Him and trust Him.

My multiple attempts to breathe underwater were done in blind faith. I believed wholeheartedly that I could breathe underwater. The faith was there, and it was strong, but it was not spirit-led. Yet now, as an adult, when God tells me something, I go after it in full faith just as I did then, but with His direction, and that makes all the difference. The promise He is leading you to can be just as impossible as breathing underwater, but with God and the posture of child-like faith, nothing is impossible with God. With His promises come His blessings when met with faith and obedience. To sum it up, child-like faith is with God's direction. Blind faith is with your direction or no direction. That little nuance is everything.

I say all this because I believe the posture of our hearts is everything to Him. If we want to hear from God and be guided by our all-loving Heavenly Father, we must posture ourselves truly as His children, because we are, and come to Him in child-like wonder and faith. When we do this, He reveals Himself in the humble quietude and submission of our lives. He will reveal the path you need to take, and He cares about the little and big things in our lives. He is in it all, and if we stop trying to do everything on our own and run to our Father, He will take care of us.