In the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street my favorite line is, ‘faith is believing when common sense tells you not to.’  There are many times in our lives that we are called upon to have faith.  For some it comes in the form of religion but being religious is not a necessary criteria.  It is having confidence or trusting in someone or something.   We all have beliefs and faith.  What happens however, if you lose faith?  Life can be cruel and when things are going  great and life is sailing along just fine, having faith is easy.  What happens though, when things aren’t going so well?  Is having faith easy when you have lost your job, have no money and are down on your luck?  Is having faith easy when your loved one has been deployed into a war zone?  Is having faith easy when your child is battling a deadly disease?  Circumstances such as these are the true tests of faith and challenge us to the core.  It is also the time when faith can really make a difference and with it many things we once believed were impossible become possible. 

Each of us faces challenges everyday.  We never know what the future holds and therefore should cherish this moment; it may be all that we have.  When life does challenge us however, we do have the ability to handle what comes our way we just have to have enough faith in ourselves that we can.