Walk By Faith, Not By Sight: Building a Spiritual Relationship

Warning this is going to be a somewhat religious post, if religion isn’t your jam…just pass on this post!

Let me preface this by saying, I am not a highly religious person but over the past 10 months, I have become more of a spiritual person. I am not one that can resight psalms and verses for you or that can recount all the stories in the Bible…I am just a person who embarked on her adult spiritual journey in 2020.

I grew up Catholic and went to church every Sunday and CCD on Sunday and Wednesday nights when I got older. My childhood is filled with memories of attending church, including counting the number of boards on the ceiling of the sanctuary and hoping my parents would let us leave after communion (which never happened!). My high school years, we went to church less often, my parents’ divorce was looked down upon and I think the judgment of it all including the lack of community we built in our new parish in Maryland helped make it easy to slip from our church going days.

I attended church probably once a month in college with my best friend, who is a devote Catholic and her spirituality is ever present. Following college, Drew and I attended an Episcopal Church in Charleston and a Methodist Church in Greenville. We would go once every month or two, but never developed a sense of community.

Moving to Georgia, we have been “church shopping” for the past 4 years and still have yet to land on the parish we want to join. Admittedly, we are members of the Catholic Church here as I try to stay in good standing with the Catholic Church. Drew’s grandfather was a Methodist minister and while I grew up Catholic, the strict guidelines and having “Catholic guilt” for some of my life’s choices allows us to compromise and be open to any Christian congregation. Being open to any congregation, means lots and lots of options.

Fast forward to 2020 and the world shut down, including churches (physically attending). Since we have not formed a community at a church, this year would seem like a wash for religion/spirituality; but the complete opposite has happened. While I may not be going to a physical building to worship, my faith and spirituality have grown this year. I feel more connected with God and my faith than ever before.

While 2020 has had its share of faults, having faith that everything is working in God’s purpose allows me to feel at ease during this time of uncertainty. Additionally, I have grown closer to my 102 year old Nana who has a strong faith and still to this day starts her mornings off reading the Bible and her various devotionals.

God has gotten me through this year and has graced me with so many blessings. While it is easy to look at the negatives and hardships of 2020, I will forever be grateful for the relationship it built between me and God.

If you are feeling like you need a shift in perspective, I suggest building your spirituality be that with God, a Higher Power, the Universe or whatever you deem appropriate. It will change your life, I promise!

A couple things I do every morning to start my day off:

Devotional Readings: After reading Atomic Habits, I totally stacked this habit to pouring my morning coffee. After I pour my first cup of coffee in the morning, I pick up my two devotional books. They are both short and to the point, Guideposts was recommended by my Nana and Jesus Calling was given to us for our wedding. These two readings are super short and take only a couple minutes to read. Trust me, if I can read them with two toddlers around, anyone can do it. I purchased Trusting God Day by Day as well as the new Guideposts for 2021.
Journaling: Ideally, after I read my devotionals I take a moment to pray and then journal about my readings or about what’s going on in my life. The habit of journaling is kind of like a therapy session, it gets out my feelings and emotions and is very therapeutic. This being said, I probably only journal two or three times a week as the boys are usually up by now and needing attention (and breakfast!).
D365 App: I downloaded this free app a year ago and I love it. Since I usually have my phone on me, I can read their daily devotional wherever I am. I try to read this in the morning following my journaling, but more often than not I end up reading this late morning. It allows me to have a refresher and reconnect with God.
Bible App: Y’all this is the coolest. I have a reminder set at 5pm every day which gets sent to my Apple Watch too for a daily scripture. I set it for 5pm as that is usually the hardest part of my day. Having the gentle reminder that He is with me, keeps me on track and allows me to be more patient and present as I go throughout my evening.

Like I said earlier, I am in no way a super religious person but just an average person who has grown in her spiritual journey this year. I hope that 2021 will bring me even closer to God and allow me to follow His purpose even more. While I want to raise my kids going to church, this year has taught me that there is a lot more than “just going church.” I look forward to finding a congregation in our area that we can become a part of and continue to grow in our faith.