Throughout my life, I have consistently failed to ask for help. I don't ask directions, I don't ask which aisle the baked beans are in, I didn't ask questions about math or statistics, even though I didn't understand either.
And even though I was steeped in a traditional Catholic upbringing, complete with classes and sacraments, I never asked questions about my religion. There were two reasons for this: 1. I didn't care enough, and 2. I knew that anything I asked could be interpreted as lacking in faith and/or respect. Since I would be asking an adult, I never took that risk.
I saw a piece in either Time or Newsweek about a pastor who had written a wildly successful book about faith called, The Purpose Driven Life, by Pastor Rick Warren. This book answered so many of the questions i didn't even know I had about Jesus, God, Christian faith, and 'religion,' which I learned was different from faith. It was life changing. It gave me a basis by which I could interrogate my faith and see whether it was on target, off-target, or non-target.
In addition to its content, the book was designed with me in mind. It would (and should) be read a chapter a day for forty days. The chapters were no more than 5 or 6 pages, and each had a scriptural link. The language was clear and simple, an easy read.
There were action steps, two of which I took quickly. The first was to establish daily quiet time with Jesus. For me, this first included listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope podcast and reading a short scripture passage. This was easy since I was commuting to work every day, and I could easily listen to it during the morning drive. Simply reading this book as intended, over the course of many days eased me into the habit of daily quiet time. More on this later.
The second step was to find a Bible-centered church. This was the first big step out of my comfort zone, as it moved me away from my Catholic upbringing, which was not centered on the Bible in a way I could understand at the time. For me, it was crucial that someone explain the Bible to me and to help me understand how to apply these ancient lessons to my life. We tried several churches with recommendations from their members and from others. We finally found a good fit for us, and we've become active members of the community.
These two fundamental steps have changed my life.
In the next post, I'll discuss daily quiet time with Jesus.
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