My Spiritual Journey : My Spiritual Journey

My maternal aunt gathered us together and we all sat on the couch. She turned to my mother and told us she had cancer. I looked at my aunt and I did not know what to say or how to respond. Three months later, my father received a phone call from his sister telling him that my pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with leukemia and had to give birth to her premature baby. She and I grew up in the same house in Arizona and what hurt me the most was not being able to be with her during this difficult time. When we went to visit her in Arizona, my dad told us before entering the hospital room that he did not want us to cry in front of her. I was scared to enter. I did not know what to say to her but I knew I had to be strong. We stayed there for the holiday season but we never celebrated the holidays, that was too

There is one loss in my life that affected many aspects of my life for many years, the divorce of my parents. I was in barley entering the first grade and the tender age of five, soon to turn six, when my parents spent their last night as a married couple. I do not have many memories of my parents as a couple but I do remember the day my Daddy left. He was a policeman and I watched as his cruiser drove away from our family home. I remember my mom crying and not being willing to console me or explain to me what was happening. All I knew is there was a fight, my dad left, it seemed different than other times when he left, and my mom was crying. Everything about my life changed in the blink of a five year old’s eyes which is what makes this loss so significant in my life.

It started off slow and by slow I mean really slow. My father was a deacon and my mother was the Sunday school teacher for the kids and adults, My Spirituality was something I don’t think much about as a kid. I was more in to Power Ranger and Ninja Turtle that anything else. My mom and dad tried to make god a part of my life but it don’t work. I was just a little kid and all I want was to play.

Bois Du was the writer of “Our Spiritual strivings”. He was saying he was a black man telling how he was speaking for blacks including himself. Then you have booker T.Washington who was explaining his disagreements between South American and others . However, in Washington's blacks will not protest for equality or civil rights and whites would provide He asked whites to hire negros instead of immigrant torrent According to Du Bois he's explaining how blacks didn't have many opportunity. Also how blacks were fighting for their lives. Even though they still didn't get peace they still fought but not only has not found freedom his promise land. Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Franklin County , Virginia Booker T. Washington became

To say my faith life has been completely revamped in the last year would be an understatement. I had views and ideas about faith that seem somewhat vile to me know with the experiences I’ve had. From just lectures to the retreats my spiritual side has gone from that of a holiday catholic to a Campus Ministry Student. From little things to big ethic topics I’ve changed in a multitude of ways, my Spiritual Autobiography looks like looks like someone else wrote it compared to any year before it. I think faith is one of the most important aspects of our life and it took me until last year to realize it.

I was hurt after the event that the only person I knew that would heal me was the one that brought me where I am today…God. Everyone in my life was questioning what I was doing by reading the bible whenever I had the chance. I powered through that summer (which was a very challenging season for me) with God and putting everything I had towards Him whenever I got the chance. I gave up my friends since they were trying to get me to drink, my parents were burned out with faith (they thought I wanted to harm myself over everything and didn’t understand why I was doing what I was doing), and the only person that helped me through it all was a godly woman that is still my spiritual leader today. She was a blessing in my life during my utmost hurtful summer. Towards the end of the summer, God had my heart and I could not explain how much love I was feeling from Him through it all. He was working wonders in my life to shape me into the man that He had for me to

Every thing seemed unfair that it was happening to my family. When we went to the hospital I saw Clay, my cousin who was the closest person to him it's an understatement to say they were like brothers. They were much more than that. I saw Trent and Ben, Kyle’s brothers. Brian and Angie, Kyle's parents. All of my family there at the hospital and a look that was much more than just sadness. The world was collapsing and nothing could help us now. The funeral was a couple of weeks later and I don't think I have ever been in a sadder place in my life where people have lost hope. I remember that I was thinking why would God do this to us, why such MALICE was upon us and what we did to deserve it. Christmas, a time of joy and happiness suddenly saddened with news of death and sorrow.

Spiritual disciplines will prepare us for our journey in Christ. I feel if understanding correctly, the classical Christian Pilgrimage remind us that we all have issues requiring regular examination. In chapter eight, the classical Christian Pilgrimage tells us we are at different stages on the path of wholeness in Christ. However, in my thoughts some areas of our Christian journey we may be doing well, but in other areas we have not touched at all. Not to mention, these are the place we are not ready or capable of handling yet, however, as we mature in God and He knows what we can handle, then we are awakened. God awakens us to our true selves which have not been completely revealed. In reality, once we reach maturity to God, he reveals all that is hidden deep inside of us (the real us/you). By the same token, he let us see the inner behaviors, attitudes, desires, in fact how we measure up in them being Christ-like. I feel the awakening stage deals with the comfort of being set free of these issues that are holding us back also causing detours on our path to wholeness in Christ. Equally, the threat is being afraid to see who we really are; also how far from Christ-like we really are. We must first be awakened from our separation also alienation from God (Mulholland 79-82).

The most traumatic event in my life was when my father passed away in 2005, when I was only seven. At first, I hadn’t understood his death. I knew what death was, and that it was permanent, but I hadn’t accepted the fact that he was gone until long after his death. My mother was a mess, and I was a confused second grader who could do nothing to help her. We began to go to counselors and psychologists, who all made me feel very uncomfortable. All they wanted was to talk about what had happened to my dad, when it was the last thing I wanted to say anything about. I laid in bed crying for a few weeks, knowing it was because of his death, but I felt emptiness rather than sadness or anger. My mother began to take medication for depression, and still continues to do so. At only seven, I believed her sadness was my fault. To be honest, I still feel hurt when I see her taking the depression medication. I know that I had nothing to do with his death, but it granted me with an unwelcoming sense of guilt. I had just been with him the night before his death, and now he had been cremated into a bag of ashes. All of my teachers were very precautious about mentioning him, and I didn’t know how to process all the new attention I had received at school. I was definitely depressed, but I found a way out of my slump. I distracted myself from his death and did all of my school work from my absences as quickly as I could, and

Prior to relocating it was so easy making my daily agenda without consulting God and presuming that it was acceptable. While in the transition of relocating though, the necessity of prioritizing and seeking God on a higher level became imminent. Once that transition period was completed I could see how my past behaviors warranted change. Through the hand of God, more in-filling of the Holy Spirit, understanding of his perspective, wisdom, increased knowledge, and peace facilitated the changes.

Losing my mother was very traumatising. She was the only parent I knew since the age of three and the one person I knew I could depend on one hundred percent. I was in school when one of my cousin came to inform me that I was to return home immediately. In my gut I knew something serious must have happened to my mother. I do not remember how I got home. When I saw several people crying at my home and nobody was really make eye contact with me, I just started to cry too and that is when someone told me how sorry they were for my loss. I was in shock for more than three days. I did not sleep nor eat and I did not shade single tears after the initial outburst. Basically I just wanted to crawl in a corner and never wake up from the nightmare. However, I had to become an adult and I

My faith journey has been challenged throughout my life. I have had many ups and downs, and many times when I questioned my faith. Although those times were rough, I found comfort in God and knowing that He is always there for me. One of my favorite quotes is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13. This quote got me through tough times when my faith was shaking.

My journey with God started in February of 1993, when I went to a ladies’ conference in Columbus, Texas. It was while the speaker was explaining that she knew there were some of us out in the audience, who felt guilty about something they had done in their past, and they did not feel that God could forgive them for it. But then she quoted from God’s word; “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, no things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39 NASB) The speaker continued on to say that all we need to do is

My call to ministry was actually not my own doing. At the start of my Christian life, my mother and grandmother raised me in the church where I would sacrifice my life to be a part of ministry. I participate in different ministries as a child. I became a choir member at an early age. Then, I became a praise dancer, a junior deacon, and a Sunday school teacher. This transition to different ministries became a part of my true purpose for God: to fulfill His purpose in my life.

I would like to reflect on a few key moments of my spiritual journey from childhood that has led me to my call to ministry. I do believe that as the prophet Jeremiah was called before his birth (Jeremiah 1:5) that some are called and know their purpose from an early age while others find their path later after stumbling through life. Perhaps it might be that they have heard the call but were uncertain or unwilling to answer the call. Looking back on my life’s journey, I can see the “God moments” and how they have influenced my faith journey.