Faith carries us through

Roughly a month ago was the 18th anniversary of 9/11. For the first time, no student in our school, grades 6-12, was born by the time all the TV channels stopped airing their regular programming and directed viewers to see the news, watching the event over and over for the days to follow. 

Instead, our stories began in the fragile, insecure, frightened years to follow, when the cracks in the facade were the holes we had to sprout through.

We remember the bombings, shootings, violence and anger of our childhood, our adolescence, and our young adulthood. Human suffering has surrounded us and, with the growing ways we find information at our fingertips, there is no longer a way to stick our heads into the sand and pretend it isn’t happening. 

Since we are human, our first instinct when we are met with pain is usually to turn to God and shout, “Why did this have to happen?” We have all done it. Our first instinct is to see the world around us, consider it lost and hopeless and throw up our hands in misery. We trust our own understanding of how the world works based on the way we understand humans, and we mistakenly ascribe to God those same expectations. We fail to have faith in these moments. We doubt.

God, however, is not like us, who make these mistakes, but is all-knowing, all-understanding and all-powerful.  He calls us to know that, to know Him, and have faith that He knows what is best for us more than we could ever, no matter how bleak the moment may seem. 

Your case may not be obvious to you when it happens; you may wonder how the flat tire, missed appointment, argument with your close friend, or the disorder, failed test or burned-down field house could ever bring you any good. In this world, how could those huge problems like violence and greed that plague our culture be good? The plain and simple answer is that they aren’t. But in time, the lessons learned, the communication increased, the self-growth, the patience, the understanding, the outpouring of kindness, and the strides taken toward justice and righteousness will be. Good can come from bad.

What I’ve come to learn is that life is a series of opportunities; it is a collection of choices and decisions. These experiences refine, strengthen, test  and develop us in ways that allow us to become the people we were called to be — the best versions of ourselves. When we realize that things do work out for the best, and that no earthly matter can separate us from God, we are given the sense of peace and courage needed to move forward in pursuing the best way to be a human being, even when the world seems to be plotting against us. The pages turn, and God is not yet done with your story. 

The Lord is an amazing author, and as He lays out the stories of our lives, it will not be easy to always see God’s plan for us; in fact, we often cannot even begin to fathom such a thing. This is why having faith to carry us through the uneasy period is so important. Faith is, in essence, the gift of acknowledging that you do not control the world, and putting your trust in God, the one who does. Faith is knowing that this won’t be the end of your story. God has not brought you this far to leave you here.

To conclude, I would like to quote one of my favorite passages from the Bible: “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

Jilda Alvord is a senior at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School.