The Shoes I Wear: A Woman of Faith

Of all the shoes I wear, this is the pair that carries the others.

Woman of faith.

It is not a title I wear because my life has been easy. If anything, it is the pair I have leaned on most when the road was rough, because there were seasons when faith was the only thing holding me up.

Faith Is Not the Absence of Struggle

For a long time, I thought a woman of faith was supposed to have it all together. She would pray and the problems would disappear. She would smile in church and never question anything.

My real story did not look like that. I have had moments that stretched my faith to its limits. I have had disappointments I did not understand. I have had seasons when I felt like I had no one on my side, and nights when my prayers were not eloquent at all. Sometimes they were just tears.

What I have learned is that faith is not pretending the pain is not there. Faith is turning toward God in the pain.

When Prayers Felt Unanswered

There were times I wondered if God was listening. I asked questions I was afraid to say out loud. I wondered why certain relationships ended, why certain chapters hurt so much, and why the road was so heavy.

I did not always get answers. What I got, slowly, was presence. In the quiet, I found strength I did not know I had. In the loneliest moments, I was not abandoned. I was held.

That is where my faith stopped being something I performed and became something I lived.

What Faith Has Taught Me

1. God can handle my honest questions.
I do not have to hide my doubts or tidy up my prayers. He meets me as I am.

2. Healing is often gentle and slow.
Some wounds are healed in a moment. Many are healed over seasons. Both are the work of grace.

3. My scars are not wasted.
The places that hurt the most have become the places where I understand grace the best. This is why I call them sacred.

4. I was never meant to walk alone.
Faith gave me an anchor, and it also led me to people, community, and encouragement I would have missed if I had kept pretending to be fine.

A Promise for the Hard Seasons

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3

When I read this verse, I do not just see a promise of comfort. I see a description of scars: wounds that were bound up, tended to, and healed. That is the God I have come to know.

For the Woman Who Is Weary in Her Faith

Maybe you are reading this and feeling distant from God. Maybe your prayers feel empty, or you are tired of waiting, or you are not sure what you believe anymore.

I want you to know that it is okay. You are not a failure of faith. Even a whispered “God, help me” is a prayer, and it is enough.

Father, I pray for the woman reading this right now. Where her faith feels weak, be her strength. Where her questions feel heavy, be her peace. Where she feels unseen, remind her that You see her completely. Heal what is broken, hold what is hurting, and let her find hope again. Amen.

Let’s Talk

Where has your faith been stretched the most, and what held you up? Share it in the comments or send me a message. Your story might be exactly what another woman needs to read today.

If you know someone who needs encouragement in her faith, send this post to her. If you would like to read the deeper story behind these words, Sacred Scars is available here. And to keep walking this road with me, hit subscribe.

With love,
Esther