“What would our faith look like in a How It Started vs. How It’s Going meme? What was our fresh, hopeful picture at the beginning — and how do we look now? For many of us, . . we started full of earnest faith, hope, and love. But life has proven to be complicated, and for many of us the faith we had at the beginning couldn’t hold up to the challenge. . . . Our prayer muscles atrophied. Our trust was shaken.”- Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague
In Chapter 1 (“Let’s Start with a Meme”) of Mid-Faith Crisis: Finding a Path Through Doubt, Disillusionment, and Dead Ends, coauthors Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague talk about a meme that pops up on social media every now and then. In one How It Started meme, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet framed an old picture of his childhood self in a cardboard box. Next, the How It’s Going picture showed his grown self flying a NASA space shuttle.
So, whether we celebrate things with this meme or depict breakups, loss, or decline we enjoy the contrast of time passing. Because it’s so true, so notable. Hence, Catherine and Jason wonder, what would our faith look like in this meme? What happens when a stark juxtaposition exists between how we started out faith and how it’s going now?
Simply put we hit a crisis or two, or three. Therefore, you might call it a mid-faith crisis. A very common tale.
As an eight-year-old, Jason travelled the country with a performing arts troupe called The King’s Kids. The troupe consisted of thirty neon-clad kids and their chaperones. In 1987, they appeared on the 700 Club.
At that age, Jason observes, it was such an easy promise to sing about — living their lives for the Lord. The words just rolled off their tongues. Above all, people told Jason God had big plans for him.
But, Jason quips, thirty years into polishing his halo under those 700 Club lights, he hadn’t changed the world. Then troubles came. And Jason was not prepared. Far from changing the world for Christ, Jason found himself awash in a multitude of griefs, accusations, and fears. Yet, he wanted to stay centered on the God he loved and mostly trusted.
Today’s question: How does your faith look in the How It Started meme? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Soul-level exhaustion”