What Is Faith Without Action?

It occurred to me the other day that I spent a lot of time writing when my son was not doing well. When he is doing well, it’s not that I’m not pouring my heart out in gratitude to God, but I am not sharing that part of this journey. On a subliminal level, there is fear of truly vocalizing his hard work might somehow jinx his progress.

Certainly, being braggadocious isn’t my intent here, because I know we are all just one weak moment from another low. My intent is put action to my faith. James 2:17 reminded me, Faith by itself, if it not accompanied by action, is dead.

My opinion is that faith is such a huge part of recovery. — whether you are spiritual in Christ or not. We have faith our loved ones will get sober and stay in recovery. They have to have faith that they can do it. Trying to be a follower of Christ, I feel a certain peace in knowing that my faith is in God’s plan for us. It’s hard to remember that when we are in the lows, and I tend to lean on him more. But I am putting my faith into action and praising him during the good times too.

For months, I have watched as my son has been putting his best foot forward. (Those that know us personally may giggle at that because for months he was non-weight bearing on one leg due to a motorcycle accident and multiple surgeries.) There is light in his eyes again. Color in his cheeks. I’ve seen a man starting to emerge from his boyish ways and bad decisions and addiction fueled poor choices, and the man I’m seeing is a good one. Hard working, funny, helpful, witty, stubborn, sarcastic and learning about himself. I’ve saw him work on himself and start leaning into Christ — all of these things are just the tip of the iceberg making this Mama's heart swell with pride and gratitude. I have always been proud of my son, but being able to be proud of his decisions is quite a feeling. Seeing him have some faith in himself and putting that into action, well, there are no words from me. (Shocking to those that know me.)

This battle is not over. In some ways, it’s just beginning. I felt it important to show my faith in my son, and remind myself of the faith I have in God’s plan for him.