Having a strong faith in a figure one can not see is not always a task to accomplish.  Believing in a God when times are rough is an even greater challenge. Having a strong faith in hard times is always important, but how is one supposed to believe in something when things do not go their way?  Putting all of one’s trust into something that does not turn out the proper way seems to be nearly impossible. In late August and early September of 2014, my faith was tested beyond limits, and I was able to gain many life lessons from this sorrowful experience.

One’s family is the greatest gift to be blessed with from God.  More specifically, my grandparents were the greatest gift I could have been given in my life. On any given day of the week, my grandparents were always calling or visiting me. Not for one second did I ever doubt the amount of love and care they had for me.  Spoiling my sister and I was their specialty, of course! Throughout the many years I was able to spend time with my grandparents, I grew an inseparable bond with them. My grandparents taught me more to know in life than anyone will be capable of doing. They were always my number one supporters, critics, friends, and much more.  In my opinion, my grandparents were the most special gifts in my life, and this belief will always be the same.

Throughout the journey of life, losing loved ones is an impossible obstacle to overcome.  In 2014, I lost my grandma and grandpa, both of which I was extremely close to. This was one of the hardest tests in my life that I had to find a way to overcome.  Losing faith in God was an easy option to do, but it was not the right one. After all, why do bad things happen to good people? Bad things happening to good people does not make much sense to understand; therefore, sometimes questioning and losing faith is an easy option.  At such a young age, I did not fully understand what my faith was, so I would always question why things were happening. I would constantly ask my mom, “Why does God want to take Grammy and Gramps so bad? I do not want them to go.”

My mom would always respond, “In life, we do not always get what we want.  It is their time to be with God, and we have to understand that they will be in a better place away from suffering.”

I never wanted to accept this as an answer, but after losing my grandparents I had to hold on to this answer.  Realizing the suffering and pain my grandparents were going through was gone helped me understand why their time to go came.  God has a plan for all and understanding this concept helped me grow in my faith and learn.

In total, trusting in God is not always the easiest thing to do, but in order to live life to my full capacity, trusting in God is mandatory.  Looking back, the death of my grandparents has helped me to overcome multiple hard obstacles thrown at me in life. Believing that there is a reason for everything that occurs helps me hold on to and learn from all that I have overcome.  My faith in God has grown a tremendous amount throughout the past few years, and my faith will continue to grow for the rest of my life. The wisdom and love my grandparents have given me aid me always believe and put faith in God. Reminiscing on this hard time in life has helped me realize the good in bad times.  The death of my grandparents has forever changed me in a positive way, and I have become a more faithful Catholic because of them.