NGO, Jennings Jervis T.

1. Was there an instance in your young life that you took a leap of faith? Describe the
incident briefly.

For me, taking a leap of faith means trusting God entirely that He will heal my despair
and fulfill the wonderful plan that He has for me. I believe that instances where I’m at my
darkest are the times that I take a leap of faith. Back in junior high school I had a difficult
time dealing with bullying and rumors about me. I resorted to self-harm and abandoned
God since I thought to myself that if God truly is there, I wouldn’t be suffering. But one
day my mom made me attend church, and the sermon was truly moving. It talked about
how God doesn’t forsake us even if we stray from Him, but how He still cares for us
even if we are all sinners. I took a leap of faith in praising Him again, and believing that
in His right timing, I will be okay again, that the bullying and rumors about me would
stop, and that I will find people who care about me, respect me, value me and love me.
And thankfully, after some time, it really did happen, God gave me everything that I
prayed for and so much more.

2. What is your view of faith? Is faith to you, glad tidings for the melancholic?

I grew up attending a Christian high school, and we have always talked about faith
during our chapel services, and homeroom sessions. When I was younger, my view of
faith translated to belief, or simply believing in God and good things will come to you.
However, as I grew up, I realized that practicing your faith in God is not as easy as our
teachers and pastors make it sound to be.

Now, faith to me is believing in God in every moment of our lives, especially during
difficult times. Faith is understanding that even though we may be going through
suffering, we must not lose hope, and always remember that God has each of our plans
laid out for us. I think Romans 8:18, one of my favorite bible verses best describes my
view of faith, “​Yet  what  we  suffer  now  is  nothing  compared  to the glory he will reveal to 
us  later.”  ​Perhaps sometimes we need to go through pain and suffering in order to truly
appreciate the good that is coming forth. With faith, we feel assured that God is working
in our favor and our lives because we know that He loves and cares for us.

However I must admit that my faith in Him is not as strong as i want it to be, since I have
often lost faith in Him because of the painful experiences that I have gone through in my
life. Yet somehow, I always come back to Him, especially during my darkest times when
I’m crying alone feeling helpless. Praying to God, “Ikaw na bahala sa akin”, and thinking
that no one else could help my situation but Him always puts me at ease after. I do
agree that faith is glad tidings for the melancholic, because during times when I, myself,
felt melancholic, I always turn to God for comfort, and I just rely on my faith in Him that
He could make my situation better/

3. Illustrate/draw your idea of faith. Briefly explain your artwork.

The high cliff represents the problems that make us feel despair and melancholy, as
well as the way of thinking that we are alone and that no one could help us arise from
our difficult situation. The person jumps from the cliff, onto God’s hand, signifying how
we leave our problems behind, when we trust in God that He will catch us and care for
us, and we leave it all unto him. The moon signifies both darkness and light, since the
moon only comes out at night, which conveys the dark times in our lives. However, the
moon is our light at night, which also symbolizes God, since He lights us up from within
during our dark times.

(Sorry for the not so good illustration, I don’t really have the talent of drawing.)