“Faith is a funny thing. It is very elusive. You can say you have it, always have, but if you have to describe it, and how you came about it, often you can’t answer that,” Nancy shared.
“I grew up in the church from the time I was a little girl and was always very active in Sunday school, junior choir, and Methodist Youth Fellowship,” she continued. “My faith in God was well established, ‘just because.’ I believed in heaven.”
“As an adult, I became the worship leader of our church, which had a congregation of about 60 to 80 worshipers. I knew them all well and had grown up with at least half of them,” stated Nancy. “On several occasions, I was called upon at the last minute, usually late on a Saturday night, to preach the following day, because the pastor was sick.”
Often, she found herself scrambling to prepare a sermon, but in truth, the sermon found her; she just didn’t realize it at the time.
“I experienced two near-death incidents in the hospital within three years. During both encounters, I saw angels that took the form of my mother, who had passed away over 40 years earlier, and my niece, who had died at the age of 40. These experiences were meant to comfort me and reassure me that God wasn’t ready for me yet, and I would be fine,” Nancy shared, taking comfort in these incidents.
“One Sunday, I shared this experience and invited anyone in the congregation to share their own ‘angel’ stories. I didn’t expect anyone to respond because, let’s face it, these are very personal experiences,” shared Nancy. To her surprise, four people raised their hands, stood up, and shared their stories. And she could see their joy in finally telling their experience.
Yes, faith can be elusive; it can be hidden. However, when you say, “Yes, I believe,” or “I have faith,” it often shows itself in very unexpected ways. Nancy expressed, “I believe that God has a way of reaffirming our faith every day.”