Spirit Matters: ‘You have everything you need, if you just believe’

“Do you believe I can do this for you?”

This is a critical question. Jesus asks it numerous times in the gospels.

When approached by those seeking healing of various maladies, he makes it clear that only one thing is required to be made well: faith.

He goes so far as to say if one has faith the size of a mustard seed, one could make a mountain be uprooted and moved into the sea.

Seems pretty implausible, does it not?

The problem today is not that people don’t believe a supreme being exists. People don’t grasp how different their lives can be if they just believe the holy spirit can do what Jesus tells us the holy spirit can do.

Several decades ago, I began my work life in Bloomington-Normal, working at the corporate headquarters for a major insurance company. As a 21-year-old young adult female, I was a bit awestruck that I was able to acquire a position.

Not that it was easy. It took much persistence, encouragement from family and friends, and interviews in multiple departments before I was hired.

The consensus was clear: My life was set. I need not worry about my financial future.

Whether or not that was true, it wasn’t long before I found myself feeling restless. I knew I was wearing a coat that didn’t fit.

I couldn’t remain in the corporate environment and stay true to my soul.

Eventually, I reduced my status to part-time and returned to college. With the encouragement of a new friend, one who had taken my original position, I applied for and was hired at Easter Seals’ Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Hudson.

Talk about culture shock. The change could not have been more dramatic. From cubicles to cabins. From daily walks in a sunlit atrium to daily walks on wooded trails with various wild animals along for the ride. From quietly working on my own to being a part of a small year-round staff that did everything from cooking to cleaning to assisting in staging major fundraising events.

That was in addition to my regular role as the camp registrar.

But that was just the beginning.

That job and the people I worked with modeled something to me that I hadn’t been consciously aware of before, although I had read the words many times: With God, all things are possible.

My co-workers had, to that point, lived adventurous lives. They still do, but when I heard of how some of them had traveled around the country working at camps, and the stories that accompanied those travels, I was mesmerized.

They didn’t seem to live in a constant state of fear and uncertainty as I had to that point.

Although I did end up leaving that job and moving back to Streator, the seeds had been planted. That wild train ride gave me a taste of the expansiveness of our soul that is possible with mustard seed-sized faith.

I am not going to pretend that I didn’t and don’t still struggle with fear and uncertainty. In fact, while navigating clinical depression and general anxiety disorder, I had reverted further into myself than before I began working at the camp.

But with my mother pushing me, as only mothers can, I got involved with and helped organize We are the Church renewal weekends in Streator. Initially, I was happy to stay in the background.

By the time of our last retreat in 2019, I was the assistant spiritual director and had given various talks and meditations to much appreciation from those on the receiving end.

My experience working as a reporter for The Times newspaper was another wild ride, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of being a writer.

Through this experience, I met many new people and covered various events, meetings and natural disasters.

Not to mention the Mary Tyler Moore-esque experience of working in a newsroom with characters who made me laugh and challenged me to grow every day. Being able to commiserate with them about the daily unexpected nature of the job helped keep me sane.

I could go on, with other examples of life experiences that would have been unheard of – opening a bookstore and meeting and marrying my husband in our 50s are just a few.

When I worked at the camp, I looked at my colleagues and thought I needed to be like them (i.e., extroverted and adventurous) to grow my soul.

But in not traveling the country and instead moving back home, my soul has expanded in immense ways I never thought possible. It has expanded in the way my unique soul was designed to expand.

And so can yours.

It doesn’t matter where we live or what our life circumstances are in the moment.

We can make an impact wherever we are when we put the logistics in God’s hands.

It’s really all up to you.

Do you believe God can do this for you, whatever “this” is, in your life?

If the answer is yes, get ready for a wild ride.

Spirit Matters is a weekly column that examines experiences common to the human spirit. Contact Jerrilyn Zavada Novak at jzblue33@yahoo.com to share how you engage your spirit in your life and community.