Hope Through Faith by Anonymous

“Everything on earth in this life is underwhelming, but it is all worth it to see God.”

I was set on the path to God when I went to Catholic school for nine years. It wasn’t my choice, but I am very grateful that it happened. I would not be the person that I am without that school. My brother set an excellent example for me, even if I might not have seen it in the moment. Towards the end of my time at that school, my brother and I would serve at mass almost every weekend for years. Around this time, I would also go to summer and winter camp with some of my best friends, where we would learn more about our faith, make good habits, and break the habits when we got home. My junior year of high school (I went to public school for all high school), I was able to make it to the National Catholic Youth Conference at the last minute. This seemed different.

It was my first time traveling without my parents, and I didn’t feel homesick at all, I never have. It was amazing seeing so many young people gathered together to celebrate their Faith. But it was over fast, and I was back home doing my daily routine of school before I knew it.

At the time of writing this, I am seventeen years old and about to graduate high school and start my first ever job. I have finally made some good habits, such as my prayer life, and I have friends (that I don’t deserve) that help me stay on the path to God.

God has been present in my life. Just the way that some things happened or the way they would turn out, I knew it couldn’t be chance and that there is a reason for so many things. All that is needed to notice these things is some perspective. I still don’t know why some things have happened, and these can confuse me or make me feel angry or sad. However, I have hope for three things. The first is that, in time, I will know and understand why things happened the way that they did. The second thing I have hope for is my friends and family; I hope that they have wonderful lives in God and that I will see them in Heaven. Before I say the last thing I have hope for, I need to explain a bit.

One thing that I have learned in my short life is that almost everything is underwhelming. I have only been truly overwhelmed one time in my life, and I don’t at all feel like I will be overwhelmed again. I feel like everything I will do in life will be underwhelming, such as graduating and starting a job. This leads to my final hope. The last thing that I have hope for is that when I die I will go to Heaven and see God and be completely overwhelmed.

Everything on earth in this life is underwhelming, but it is all worth it to see God. I can’t reasonably explain why exactly I have my Faith in God. It’s not because of any specific person or experience. It is the culmination of all my experiences and all the people in my life. It is simply who I am as a person. It’s my identity. Through the countless mistakes I’ve made, I’d never change a thing.