What it Is, and how we use it
We use the word faith constantly, faith in outcomes, in the process, in love, in a higher Source, in ourselves, in political ideals, in “the system.” We use it to describe commitment, conviction, and sometimes even to issue a gentle reprimand: ye of little faith.
We’re told often enough: Have faith.
Most of the time, we use it as a noun, confidence in what we hope for, trust in what we cannot yet see. Some people describe it as a deeper kind of knowing, a conviction that goes beyond empirical evidence. In truth, faith often means believing without proof, accepting without guarantees. It’s a choice, often an action, and sometimes a courageous one. In certain religious or theological contexts you might even hear it used as a verb: I faith in God’s promises.
Whether we like it or not, the unknown affects all of us. And lately, unpredictability feels like the only predictable thing. What we once assumed to be stable keeps revealing its uncertainty, especially in the current political climate. Speaking of climate: ask any teacher about snow-day forecasts. Warnings come days ahead, predicting treacherous roads and heavy snowfall. Frequently the precipitation turns to rain, or misses us entirely. This, despite our impressive data collection, meteorological models, and expert analysis. (I think of all the times I had my students sleep with a spoon under their pillows… hoping to manifest a snow day.)
On my bulletin board is the following:
“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”
—Fred Gailey, Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
That line captures how I experience both the word and the world. What does that actually look like? For me, choosing faith, despite the inherent risk, often brings a surprising rush of confidence. Faith can feel like a stretch, because it asks us to trust what we cannot measure with our senses. In a way, it’s like exercise: both faith and hope are strengthened with practice. You trust a trainer to prepare you for a race, or simply for the daily marathon that is life.
That too, is faith.
There are many ways to soothe the anxiety uncertainty stirs up. We can talk things through, research the topic, look for patterns, self-soothe… or we can choose to have faith.
Faith in what, though? That’s the question worth exploring. Go ahead – stretch!
When has faith shown up for you?
… at edit
Writing the better part of the day, by late afternoon I was in desperate need to feel wind and rain on my face! I headed to S……s for my new favourite indulgence: a Sugar Cookie Latte. I paid with my gift card and slipped it into my left pocket. Just outside the entrance, an older gentleman stepped in uncomfortably close, blocking the way on my right. Assuming I had drifted into his path, I apologized – just as I felt a bump on my left hip. When I turned, no one was there. The man on my right smiled and sauntered off with his latte.
Back home, I emptied my pockets – keys, but no gift card!
Had I been pickpocketed? Despite retracing my steps – no luck and nothing was turned in. Although disappointed, I chose to trust – that my gift card would turn up or sweeten the day for someone who needed lattes more than I did. I had to release it!
… the following day
After wrapping up my final edit, I wanted to treat myself – preferably one involving caffeine and questionable choices. Before I knew it, I was back at my coffee shop clinging to the hope that my missing gift card might magically reappear. When I asked about it, the manager emerged holding my $75 gift card. Someone had turned it in. Maybe my would-be pickpocket had a change of heart… or perhaps it was more of a “catch and release.”
That is faith in action!
