I have been a woman of Christ since I can remember. One of my earliest memories was choosing my favorite booster seat in our church’s van. No matter the weather or the time of the year, I never missed a Wednesday night service, and I made it on Sundays as often as I could.
How did I become so religious?
What put the root into my heart that created a garden for the gospel? I still do not know the answer to that, but I know a handful of people that have inspired me and truly affected my relationship with God.
My Mother
The first person would have to go to my mother. I have heard her testimony time and time again. It shows that God was with her through her pregnancy with me and I was her miracle child. Of course, that is why my name is Faith. My mother has always been the strongest woman I have ever known. She has lived through so many hardships and if you met her today, you wouldn’t have any idea.
I have asked myself why I am so religious and how I became the woman I am. Who could have created such a Godly woman? Well, of course, it takes a woman of faith to influence, persuade and inspire others to God. It was her. The woman that held me close and never let me down.
She may not know how much I look up to her, but she is my biggest role model and I would not be half the person I am today if she wasn’t my mother.
My Youth Group Teacher
It is hard to remember who was next. So I will skip to my teenage years. Our church’s youth group teacher. She is such a kind lady. No matter what I was going through, she was there for me. She knew my mother and also worked in the pharmacy my mom used. She knew the problems she had and the lifestyle I had come from. She never judged me.
There were some things I had told her I probably shouldn’t have, but she only supported me. I am so thankful she was there to influence me. I truly looked up to her and envied her relationship with God. She encouraged me to continue my bible studies and come to church every week. I’m very thankful I had a relationship with God through those years.
A Former Co-Worker
This person took me by surprise. A former coworker of mine. In the beginning, we just shared hellos and your typical daily chats. But one morning she greeted me, “hey faithy-poo.” I nearly fainted at the sound of a stranger calling me the nickname my great aunt had given me when I was a child. I was quick to ask her if I had heard her wrong. She was embarrassed. This was her niece’s nickname as well. I told her someone had never greeted me like this before, but by only family.
From that day forward, I felt as though the heavens had sent me this little lady. She brightened my days with her cheerful spirit. She didn’t know, but I was struggling. It was so hard to wake up and find happiness in my day-to-day life. Being miserable at work made it hard to be happy at home. Her joyful mood helped lighten my own.
She moved on from the factory several months ago, but I still cherish our friendship. We truly had a bond like I could never explain! God gave me her when I needed her most. He knew her job was done with me, so he let her go to bless someone else!
A Wonderful Friend
The last person who has affected my faith is a wonderful friend of mine. Her and I did not get to know each other personally for about a year. She used to ask me several times a week “are you ready to be an FST?”, “do you want to be an FST yet?.” FST stands for Floor Support Technician. I never knew how to respond. It was usually a no. But she became pregnant and had to go on maternity leave for 3 months.
When she came back, I had indeed become an FST, and we worked side by side for the rest of my time at the factory. She had taught me so many things. At first, it was not about my faith. She taught me about our day-to-day skills as Floor Support. But I always asked her things like “night shift has a tooling change but they never clean my tooling, should I not worry about it?” Every time, her answer was the same.
“Never set them up for failure.”
More often than not, they had left the assembly line in an awful state. I still did my best, so they were ready to go. She taught me to be more humble that day. I still struggle from time to time. It’s hard to forgive the second shift when they are constantly setting us up for failure. This is not the only thing she had taught me.
Our relationship never turned to God for quite a while. I somehow knew she was a Godly woman. And from time to time, I would turn to her when I had religious questions or testimonials. She invited my husband and me to her church’s dinner. I’m an anxious person so I didn’t go to her dinner.
She told me she asked God to work on my heart after her invitation. I will tell you I felt God working in my heart. Here I am. A few months later and God has not stopped working on my heart. How grateful I am that she prayed for me.
Who has had the most impact on your Faith?
A friend, family member or even a stranger you met on the street. No matter who a person is, it is clear when God is speaking to you through them. You just have to let him.