Our God – The Ultimate Foundation

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Bold in Life, Bold in Work

“It’s not the beauty of a building you should look at; it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.”

 

Since I was a little girl, one of my favorite activities included looking at houses. The exterior elevation, the landscaping, the architecture, the driveway, the lot size… the list could go on. I even had a journal with all of my “custom home” drawings and used to spend recess getting my ideas on to paper. We moved from my childhood home after I finished sixth grade and leading up to the move Mom and Dad let me navigate the Houston Association of Realtors site for houses that could become our family’s new home. My parents taught me how to navigate the site with search parameters that they felt were best for our family. Unbeknownst to me, they were teaching me way more than simply searching for a home… they were teaching me how to use the gifts that God gave me as an 11 year old girl.

 

From a structural standpoint, the foundation of any building is most important but from a religious standpoint, the foundation of our relationship with God is and will always be THE most important.

 

Growing up, attending mass as a family was a usual part of our Sunday. I never remember feeling forced to go to mass, in fact, I felt the opposite. Whether through serving as an altar server or a lector, I always felt at home when inside the church – after all, what better place to be than in the Lord’s house?

 

As college approached, I knew I wanted to study architecture, engineering or entrepreneurship. Despite what I majored in, I had the same end goal – be around construction. I firmly believe that my desire to work in the construction industry was God telling me that this was my time to use the gifts He bestowed upon me, the same gifts I have had since I was a little girl, to make the world a brighter place through my professional journey. What God didn’t tell me was how hard it was going to be to not only balance, but also grow in my faith while I was also excelling in my professional career. When reflecting upon my time in the DMV, the following two years really come to mind:   

2018 – The year I started my masters program at John’s Hopkins and the year I allowed myself to grow with the Lord in ways I had not before. I was able to celebrate mass in 10 different churches across 6 states and 3 countries that year. I had a community of friends from both undergrad and post grad that were constantly encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone through confession, adoration, scripture, the music ministry and volunteering with the Sisters of Charity. I wrote 40 letters of gratitude during Lent and mailed them to friends and family across the country and even traveled to Israel to visit the Holy Land. To say I felt like I was on top of the world with the Lord would be an understatement. He had blessed me SO dang much and filled my heart with such happiness amidst work, school, and my social life.

 

2019 – Balancing grueling work weeks, time with new and old friends, time with family, exercise, hobbies and then add on my hardest classes of grad school! I caught myself feeling like there were NEVER enough hours in the day and that no matter how hard I tried my performance was never quite good enough. Perfectionism was getting the best of me. I was falling asleep before finishing night-time prayer, I wasn’t able to make routine church events due to my work and class schedule, was getting distracted during mass thinking about how much homework I had. I worried about how many friends or family I hadn’t texted back or called that weekend and often felt guilty that I wasn’t “doing it all” like I was used to being able to handle. Even during this time, He had still blessed me SO dang much and filled my heart with such happiness, I just had to learn to accept that I was feeling this happiness differently than the year prior.

 

My point with sharing these experiences is that our relationship with the Lord is always under construction. There is no completion date, there is no formal schedule to adhere to, and there is no budget. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believed in him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

Fast forward to now – without reservation, I would define myself as a confident, faith filled daughter of God who has found a way to grow and excel in her faith AND the male dominated construction industry. I hope my story encourages whoever is reading this that if our faith was easy, everyone would pursue it. Embrace the challenge, embrace and overcome temptation, embrace the gifts that God has bestowed upon you. Embrace each and every chapter of your life. NEVER settle and stay true to yourself. For the Lords plans are by far greater than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves.

 

If you ever find yourself feeling challenged, frustrated or lost with your relationship with the Lord, lean on Philippians 4:6 which tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation with prayer and petition present your requests to God.”

 

Now, it’s time for you to chase your dreams and change the world. You got this and I have faith in you.

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