La Fede

Life is beautiful. It really, really is. I worry that sometimes I get so bogged down in the mundane that I forget the divine, or perhaps that I forget to find the divine in the mundane. But thankfully God made the refractive index of water different from that of air and so we get quaint and timely reminders every so often that the divine is everywhere ... even in a little sunlight reflecting off the back side of a couple raindrops in a perfectly optically predictable fashion.

And with that I am quite done with my abstract and somewhat pretentious explanation of rainbows. What really has me thinking today is an insight I gleaned yesterday morning as I was studying and talking with my roommate. Perhaps not so much an insight as it was a reconfirmation, both quaint and timely, of something I already knew but am apt to forget from time to time.

One of my favorite definitions of faith comes from the Bible Dictionary:

To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fulness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation.

In coming to know and understand the perfect nature of God we are able to trust that He loves us and that ultimately He will make all things work for our good. I've heard it said that "to believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair, and that there will be wonderful surprises."

Now here's my dilemma: I have a terrible time relinquishing control. Coupled with a near paralyzing fear of making a mistake, this tendency leads to a whole lot of nothing. Ironically, this means that very often I miss opportunities for fear of missing opportunities. It's a bit like the overburdened juggler who drops everything because she's just a little too focused on controlling one ball.

So what does this have to do with faith? Everything! As the most fundamental principle of the gospel, faith has everything to do with it. Rather than focusing on controlling the juggling balls whizzing around my head I need to focus on the only thing I really can control: my committment to the gospel. So long as I am doing the best that I can and moving forward in a positive direction, the Lord will bring about the opportunities and circumstances that I need in order to ultimately be happy and fulfill my greatest potential. Understanding and believing this, and acting accordingly, is a matter of faith. Sure there are setbacks and disappointments along the way. That's life. But there's no reason to believe that choosing one path and following it in good faith somehow limits our opportunities. In fact, I'm inclined to believe that doing so demonstrates our faith and willingness to act and to be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" and thus expands our horizons and opportunities through blessings.

Anyway, just some thoughts for a Tuesday afternoon. And hey, if nothing else at least there's a pretty picture of a rainbow.