2022: Growing in Faith
Yeah, COVID isn’t going away any time soon.
Reading the news and seeing titles like “COVID will be called an endemic” kind of gave me a sense of relief but at the same time, calling it something different is not actually making it any better. Traveling just sounds so stressful right now with all the different documents people need to carry, taking COVID tests, anxiously waiting for results before boarding on a plane, booking a quarantine hotel room – I don’t know how I will face it myself when I do travel.
I think about the lack of a good health system in my home country and I worry if something happens to my parents or close friends. Hearing about close friends who have actually gotten COVID devastates me, but I’m thankful they have recovered well. I don’t know, maybe in a few years, we will look back and tell ourselves “wow, we overcame those tough times”.
Since moving to Hong Kong in 2019, it seems like the years have been all smushed together. Sometimes I don’t even remember what happened in 2020 and 2021. It’s crazy to live in this present time where our faith has definitely been shaken and we continue to have waves of uncertainty.
The year isn’t over yet, but here are a couple things that I’ve been learning about faith:
As we are part of God’s family, we are called to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). It’s easy to read past these scriptures and say, “yes, I live by faith.” I’ve learned that living by faith is a daily decision for anything, whether big or small.
To live by faith is to seek the Father. Being intentional to seek God in-spite of all the information, clutter, news, social media stuff that is thrown at you. Spending time with God in times of desperation and in times of joy. Since last year, I have experienced that keeping a journal has been such an intimate way of expressing myself to God and spending time with Him. He knows my heart and my thoughts. I can be real with Him.
Walking in thanksgiving. A way for me to battle against anxiety and worries has been to write down things I am thankful for. The list is really long! Since the pandemic, the number one thing I've been so thankful of is to be part of a loving community. When you have a community, it really makes a difference, knowing that we are not battling alone.
Does living in faith mean that I’m completely not worried or not caring about the current world situation? Of course not. I think about how the pandemic has affected our lifestyles, our decisions, dreams and goals, but the more we live through uncertainty, the more I truly understand what it means to depend on our Heavenly Father in all things.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ‘Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’” Matthew 6:33-34
