You Better Have Some Faith

You Better Have Some Faith

By Kateb Nuri-Alim Shunnar

“Now baby… you better have some faith. And not that cheap kind, either. I’m talkin’ real, full-bodied, old-school, sit-down-and-rest-your-soul kinda faith. Not that ‘I believe until the bills come due’ faith, or the ‘I trust God until my little boyfriend stop textin’ back’ kinda faith. Naw. I mean the kind that keeps you holdin’ on when everything in your life is throwin’ a tantrum.”

Now sit down and let me talk to you for a minute. This ain’t no TED Talk. This is Grandmama Wisdom seasoned, sassy, and sacred. You ain't gotta take notes, just open up that hard head and soft heart. I promise it’ll land where it needs to.

See baby, faith ain’t somethin’ you pull out on Sunday and tuck away in your purse like a peppermint. It’s somethin’ you live, walk, breathe, and sometimes cry through. It’s what keeps you together when your edges are frayed and your bank account is laughin’ at you louder than your problems.

Let me break it down for you with a little parable I know.

The Parable of Miss Loretta and Her Collard Greens

There once was a sweet old woman named Miss Loretta. Everybody in town knew her collard greens could heal a broken heart, clear sinuses, and make a grown man cry.

Well, one year, the ground got dry. The sun stayed hot. No rain, no mercy. Everybody told Miss Loretta, “Ain’t no way them greens gon’ grow this year. You better sit this season out.”

But Miss Loretta? She said, “Mmm-hmm, y’all don’t know my God.”

She tilled the dirt anyway. She sang over the soil, laid down seeds like prayers, and watered that dry ground with the little she had and I don’t just mean water. She poured hope into that soil like molasses on hot biscuits.

And would you believe, weeks later, little green leaves peeked up through that cracked earth. Them greens came up stubborn and strong just like Miss Loretta.

When folks asked her what her secret was, she said, “Baby, faith is like greens it don’t make sense to everybody, it takes time to cook, and it sure ain't for the impatient.”

Now that’s the kind of faith I’m talkin’ about.

See, too many of y’all want microwave miracles. But faith don’t come with a ‘ready in 60 seconds’ guarantee. Faith is like a gumbo it’s gotta simmer. You gotta stir it even when you don’t see nothin’. You gotta trust that what you’re cooking is gon’ feed you when it’s done, even if all you got right now is steam.

And Lord help us, some of y’all got drive-thru faith. You only show up to get somethin’, and if it don’t come fast enough, you mad at the Chef. Baby, this ain’t Burger King you can’t have it your way. You can have it God’s way, though. And let me tell you from experience: God’s way will season your life better than you ever could.

Now, don’t get me wrong I know it’s hard. I know you’re tired. I know your prayers feel like they hittin’ the ceiling and fallin’ back down like confetti at a broke party. But that’s when faith matters most. When you can’t see nothin’. When it feels like you’re on hold and Heaven’s voicemail box is full.

But hear me good: Faith ain’t feelin’. Faith is knowin’.

It’s knowin’ that even when you’re walkin’ through a storm with holes in your shoes and questions in your pocket, the Divine has not left you.

Now let me hit you with some Proverbial Wisdom, Grandmama-style:

“A closed mouth don’t get fed… but a closed heart don’t get healed.”

“You can’t put your trust in folks who change like weather. Put it in the One who made the sky.”

“Don’t borrow worry from tomorrow when God already covered today.”

And for Heaven’s sake, stop tryin’ to make sense outta every little thing. Faith don’t always come with explanations. Sometimes it just shows up with a whisper: “Keep goin’.”

And that’s enough.

So here’s what I want you to do, sugar:

Next time life start swingin’, stand flat-footed in the kitchen of your soul, look that problem dead in the eye, and say,

“I done been seasoned by storms and stirred by struggle don’t test me, I got faith in my bones and I ain’t scared to use it.”

And when it feels like all you got left is crumbs, remember God can make a feast outta crumbs if your faith is strong enough to invite Him to the table.

Just like Miss Loretta did.

Final Word from Grandmama’s Porch

Now baby, before you run off and forget every holy thing I just told you, hear this:

You gon’ need some faith in this life. Not wishin’, not hopin’, not manifestin’ with some moon rock and a vision board. I mean real, grounded, “even if I don’t see it, I still trust it” kinda faith. The kind that don’t need applause, just assurance. The kind that walks with a limp but still walks anyway.

And if life get stanky? If folks get triflin’? If your dreams smell like burnt toast?

Get up, go to the powder room, light a candle, say a prayer, spray some air freshener then come back out and keep walkin’ by faith like you ain’t never even stumbled.

Now go on, get. And remember:

Faith might not make it easy, but it sure makes it worth it.

And baby, you better have some.