My Faithful Journey

Devoting your life fully to God is not easy. But for me, it is necessary.

I am tired of struggling, forcing, and trying to carry everything on my own. The only way forward is to let God take the wheel.

For a long time, I was cautious about being open and public about my relationship with God. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was worrying about what others would think. Whatever it was, I am no longer allowing it to hold me back.

God is doing amazing things in my life, and I feel called to share this journey with those who take the time to read my blogs.

My spiritual awakening began when I was awakened by a voice in my sleep telling me to wake up and prepare for what was coming.

Now, I am telling my story openly, without shame, fear, or apology.

I am not a pro at this. I am simply learning, growing, healing, and allowing God to lead me in the direction I am meant to go.

Recently, I started doing something new. I worry way too much. I carry a lot of PTSD, baggage, and past experiences that sometimes creep into my present life more than I want them to. One of my biggest fears has been allowing those struggles to impact my children.

So, I started giving my burdens to God out loud.

And let me tell you… it is AMAZING.

When I wholeheartedly hand my worries over to Him and thank Him in advance for taking care of them, my anxiety almost instantly begins to dissolve.

For example, my oldest recently started driving.

Now listen… riding in the passenger seat with your teenager driving is a spiritual experience all by itself.

I swear I feel like a pinball bouncing between the yellow line and the white line, having mini heart attacks the entire ride. I am fairly certain I make the experience just as stressful for her as she does for me.

And to make matters more entertaining, she turns into a tiny backseat CEO while driving:

“Turn on the air.”
“Turn off the air.”
“Turn on the wipers.”
“Turn off the wipers.”

Meanwhile, I’m over here reminding her, “Girl, you have to learn how to do all of this AND drive.”

Normally, I would be yelling things like, “STOP!” or “GET ON YOUR SIDE OF THE ROAD!”

But instead, I have started saying:

“Thank you, Lord.”

Eventually, she looked at me and said, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?!”

I told her, “Because it helps keep me calm.”

And honestly? It worked.

We rode around together ALL day, and for once, there were no mini strokes, no major fussing, and far less stress between us (well… mostly).

We have also started family meeting nights on Sundays to help make our household feel less like a battlefield. Because let me tell you, four females (one is the dog) and one male in one house? Whew.

I suggested that if an argument starts brewing, instead of fighting in the moment, we announce:

“We will discuss this at the meeting.”

I then realized how hilarious that would sound in public.

Imagine tension rising in a grocery store and one of us calmly saying:

“We will discuss this at the meeting.”

The looks on people’s faces would probably be priceless.

Healing is messy. Faith is messy. Growth is messy.

But for the first time in a long time, I feel like God is helping me turn chaos into peace, one day at a time.

Yours Truly,
Cheyenne Stanley

Turning Chaos Into Clarity, One Blog at a Time