Faith has always been a battle for me. I was raised Catholic and have practiced the Catholic faith throughout most of my life. When I went to college, I did distance myself from my faith. I took a step back from the Catholic church and only went to church when visiting family. I still prayed occasionally but was not as involved in my faith as I was when I was younger. I was going through a season in my life where I felt that I didn’t need to go to church to be a good Catholic or Christian because I still prayed. This was my mindset throughout most of my twenties.
When I got pregnant with my son, I felt even more detached from my faith and God despite how much I kept praying. While I still prayed, I didn’t feel the strong connection to God that I did when I was younger. I wanted to find a church in our new town that I could become part of and raise my son in. I wanted him to grow up with God at the center of his life and know what it means to have faith in something beyond our comprehension. So, we became members of St. Stephens Catholic church and have attended mass regularly since.
The Catholic church is new to my husband as he was not raised Catholic or in the church much at all. He says it is one thing that he wishes he had more experience with and because of that, he wants to make sure Cooper is raised in the church. To both myself and my husband, we care very much about centering God in our lives and want the same for Coop. If it wasn’t the Catholic faith, it would be a different denomination that centers God. While we try to keep God in the center of our home, we aren’t perfect and sometimes fall short. Regularly going to mass has helped me refocus and remind myself of the importance of centering God.
Each night, I pray over Cooper, my husband, our family, and our future. These prayers are never long but always purposeful. The season of life that we are in dictates what I focus on in my prayers for each of us. I always start with what I am grateful for and focus the prayer on the guidance I am seeking. I feel like when I ask God to walk with me and be my guide through each season, I find myself more grounded and sure of myself and our future.
Religion isn’t for everyone. Heck, it wasn’t for me for quite a few years. But since finding my way back, I have felt more reassured, grounded, and hopeful in each season. Right now is a tough season for my family and without my faith to keep my head high I would be lost. I only hope that I can instill the importance of faith for Cooper so he knows that he is never alone in his walk through life.
Copyright 2023 Jessica Nash. All rights reserved.
