Remember learning how to back float? I can still feel my swim instructor's hands lightly supporting me as she encouraged me, "Just relax now, and lay back..." But the moment she took her hands away, I would panic, lose the position, and begin to sink. Eventually, with enough practice, I learned to trust that the water would hold me up. This is what my faith journey feels like a lot of the time. There have been times in my life when I just felt God's presence. Do you know that feeling? You feel like you're in a good place -- maybe there are no major crises; maybe you're feeling more peace, more joy or contentment. When you pray, you sense a connection. Maybe you're not struggling with doubt as much, or your recent prayers have been answered as you hoped. You just feel divinely supported, like I did with my swim instructor. But what happens when you can't feel those hands on your back? When prayers go unanswered? When feelings overwhelm you? When that voice in your head says, "None of this Jesus stuff is true. You're on your own, and you always will be." These, my friends, are the moments when our faith becomes something real. It isn't just a religious word we throw around -- it's the gift God gives us to keep us going when we fear there's nothing to hold us up. In our hardest times, we learn that faith isn't just a belief in certain facts; it is a connection with the deepest truth in the universe. It is knowing that we are not only holding on for dear life, but we are being held on to, eternally. And even the most discouraging day or the darkest night can't change that. Of course, it's wonderful to feel God's beautiful presence. But when we don't, it's very possible that He is nurturing this thing called "faith" in us. As it grows, we become stronger, more resilient, more assured about who we are and where we're headed. Nothing can take that away.