Moving In Faith

There are seasons in life when the ground beneath us feels anything but solid. When the next step isn’t clear, and yet something in us - call it intuition, call it a Higher Power, call it the quiet wisdom of lived experience - whispers, move anyway.

My recent house move has been one of those seasons. Nothing about it was certain. The timelines were unpredictable, the finances tight, the logistics complex, and the emotional stakes high. And yet, I kept feeling this deep, steady conviction that something bigger was unfolding. That I was being nudged, guided, held. That the path would reveal itself as I walked it, not before.

I used to love the saying “Pray as if praying is the only thing that works and Work as if working is the only thing that works”. And as I have grown older and wiser, I have amended that in my mind to “Pray as if praying is the only way of knowing what Work you need to do”. Which is working for me right now and I hope God’s ok with that – I’m sure He’ll let me know if not!

So I took steps that made no logical sense on paper. I acted before guarantees existed. I prepared for a future that wasn’t yet confirmed. I made decisions with a kind of trembling courage - faith not as blind optimism, but as a willingness to move with conviction even when the outcome was unknowable. Of course, if you know me you’ll know that I did it in a way that was still super informed and relatively sensible!

And in the end, it was the movement itself that created the momentum. Doors opened because I was already walking toward them. Support appeared because I had already said yes. The path didn’t become clear before I stepped; it became clear because I stepped.

This is the strange alchemy of faith: action and trust working together, each one strengthening the other.

Leaps of Faith in Doula Work, Pregnancy, and Parenting

This same dynamic shows up everywhere in the world of birth and parenting.

A pregnant person choosing a care pathway that aligns with their values, even when others doubt them.

A new parent following their instincts in the middle of the night, not because they have evidence, but because something in their bones says, this is what my baby needs.

A doula stepping into a new client relationship, a new therapy, a new offering - without knowing exactly how it will unfold, but trusting the call to serve.

Birth work is full of these moments. Parenting is full of these moments. Life is full of these moments.

We don’t get certainty. We don’t get guarantees. We don’t get a map.

What we do get is a sense of rightness, a pull, a knowing. And when we honour that knowing - when we act on it with courage and humility - we often find that the very act of moving is what shapes the outcome.

Faith isn’t passive. It’s not waiting for signs until the universe shouts loudly enough. It’s the quiet, steady willingness to take the next step even when the whole staircase isn’t visible. I heard someone say recently that “when you have a gut feeling but you’re waiting for a ‘sign’, why not consider that the gut feeling might be the sign you’ve been waiting for”

Courage as a Practice

In doula work, in pregnancy, in parenting, and in the messy, beautiful business of being human, courage is rarely dramatic. It’s usually small, almost ordinary:

• Making a phone call you’ve been avoiding

• Asking a question you’re scared to ask

• Saying no when your whole conditioning says yes

• Choosing rest when productivity feels safer

• Trusting your body, your baby, your instincts

• Taking the first step toward a life you can’t yet fully see

These are the moments that shape us. These are the moments that build a life aligned with who we truly are.

And sometimes, the only thing we have to go on is the conviction that something good is possible. That we are being guided. That the next step will appear when we need it.

In the End, Faith Is Movement

My house move taught me this again: faith is not a feeling. It’s a practice. A posture. A willingness.

It’s the courage to act without certainty.

It’s the trust that the ground will rise to meet you.

It’s the quiet belief that you are being led somewhere meaningful, even if you can’t yet see the destination.

And it’s the understanding that sometimes, the miracle isn’t in the outcome - it’s in the bravery of taking the step at all.