Student Daily Reflection

“Increase our faith.” Those three words from today’s Gospel held a great desire and longing for a deeper faith. It would be wonderful if it were that easy, and with the completion of the phrase our faith would be noticeably increased. The reality of the matter is that our faith, like anything in life, requires time and nurturing. As Jesus told his Apostles, it takes the faith of a mustard seed.

For me, Jesus’ words revolve around one major aspect: patience. Having patience comes easier to some than others. Unfortunately, I struggle with my lack of patience on a daily basis. My world is very fast-paced, and I am always moving from place to place with little downtime in between. I guess I can relate to the Apostles in the sense that when I feel that I need to do something, I need to get the task accomplished quickly and successfully.

I began working in Creighton’s Center for Service and Justice, (CCSJ) in August of this year. Each person that I met and talked with has helped harvest within me a deeply-founded respect for who the person was, and what it meant for him or her to serve others. I heard incredible stories of missionary travels, overseas immersions and life-changing events that occurred to these individuals, and was almost embarrassed that I could not relate to such stories. It was then and there that I discovered a burning desire to help others and do my best to get as many people as I could to work with me.

It was not too long after this decision that I came face to face with disappointment. I had to come to terms with the fact that not everyone had the same eagerness as I did, and finding people to volunteer with me was difficult. I was very frustrated and discouraged, but eventually realized that there were others, even if they were not the numbers I had hoped for, who wanted to help. It is these people who help drive my faith to help the community.

Building a stronger faith is about the future, not the present. It is important to be patient with myself and others in order to form a firm foundation in my beliefs. Like the Apostles, my desire to grow and teach others has been planted; like a mustard seed, I will need to use the tools of time and patience to help myself and others grow in faith.