Author: LovetheBellyoftheWhale

People who are weak decide to take the easy way out, claim a belief in some man in the clouds, use him as an excuse to do or not to do things, and use him as an easy explanation when a more logical one doesn’t exist.

I used to think those things, I know people who still think those things. I used to make jokes about how Mary and Joseph really messed up by getting pregnant before marriage and this whole Bible thing was STILL the result of their coverup. I seriously used to say that and I was so wrong, like Saul turned Paul kind of wrong coming to the realization that this Bible thing is legit. I mean, he did terrible things that resulted in the death of many but sin is sin. I feel like I can write about why I was so far off at that time because I’m looking at that mindset from a different point of view now, as a different person even. If you are a person who thinks that way, I hope you will keep reading with an open mind. 

I went to a Catholic college even before I was a believer. At the time, parts of that experience were difficult and annoying and felt silly and felt like all I could do was nod, smile, and try not to get called on in class. In my mandatory theology class, we were asked to come up with a project based on what we thought happened when we died. My end result? I drew a baby…becoming one with tree roots…and turning into a tree. To symbolize how we could become one with the earth and be reborn as a tree, nurturing the environment we used to live in. I wish I knew where that drawing was so I could show you. It was way beyond creepy and that was pretty much the one thing my professor and I seemed to agree on. Thank goodness you can’t really give a bad grade on an assignment like that. 

So college wasn’t that long ago for me, I graduated in 2016 and was baptized later that year. But it wasn’t until late in my senior year that my beliefs started changing. 

Who I am now knows that faith is not the easy way out. Real faith in God through Jesus is not just something you can fake or connect with at surface level to use to your advantage. The more you dive into it the more you are called to love unconditionally, forgive, serve, put other people before yourself, and acknowledge that yes…you are selfish by nature. Even though there are a lot of people in our world that only interact with this faith at the surface and don’t really follow through with the rest – I pray that those who think poorly of religion will someday know that real Christian faith, a real Christian heart, will act from a place of love and will not be like that stereotype you have stuck in your head. 

I fall short of loving unconditionally often. But I feel it and I try to be better. Sometimes I don’t apologize for days…but I apologize. Sometimes I am quick to anger, but I think as time goes by my efforts to improve on that are slowly working. We are all always growing and we will never be perfect, but what separates a true Christian heart from the ways of the fallen world is that voice inside pushing us to be better, to treat people better, and to act from a place of love no matter what the circumstances may be. That is so incredibly difficult, but when it’s happening…it changes lives monumentally. 

Being on this path does not mean you are never selfish, you never treat others poorly, or you never make mistakes. As a human being you are bound to struggle and we are guaranteed to face obstacles in this world. We will feel separated from people we were once close to, even unwelcomed by some, because the ways of this world are not in sync with the ways our hearts are striving to be. 

It is not easy to feel distant from people you used to feel connected to, to trust in God’s plan when your current situation might be a pit of despair instead of celebration of success, or when your only option in that pit is to quietly pray and wait for God’s answer. It’s especially hard when God’s answer doesn’t fit with your timing or your choice of an easier solution. 

So…for those that feel this belief is a crutch, something easy to lean on when someone feels unable to make it on their own, or a crazy idea that only someone who has lost their marbles could put their faith in…I would encourage you to consider: 

-Authentic Christianity is simply (or amazingly) this: Loving God and loving others as yourself. If all of us in this world did that…we would be living in a world full of people that love and care about everyone else. 

-Is it easy for you to respond with love to someone who has wronged you, offended you, or disagreed with you? It’s not, and it’s not for me either. But I’m sure at some point you’ve noticed that your negative responses or emotions caused a lot more damage to you in the long run than to that other person. 

-Harboring feelings of hate and anger have a hugely negative impact on us as individuals, and on everything we come in contact with.

It takes a lot less energy and courage to feel angry and bitter toward the bad stuff. Pushing those things away or beating them down with harsh words is quicker. Processing those things, learning from them, and loving people through those things takes a lot more. It takes a lot of courage and trust to love.

In summary…faith is not a crutch for the weak. It is a challenge, a strength, and it is the only way to be any light in the world we live in. Not loving and caring about people unconditionally…only looking out for ourselves so we can “live our best lives”…that attitude our society has encouraged us to adopt is hurting all of us. 

I have never written a blog before, created a community concept, sold my artwork, or even really publicly shared thoughts that were that personal before.

Reading my Bible and exploring my faith more, I’ve been drawn to the story of Jonah and the idea of being stuck in the belly of a whale. Jonah thought he was being punished and that maybe it was even going to be the end of him, but really in the bigger picture it was just a short, uncomfortable ride to get him to the destination where God needed him to be. 

I think we all have trouble appreciating our challenges and maintaining a grateful heart when things aren’t going well. I struggle with that all the time. We don’t have to feel alone in that or try to pretend it isn’t a struggle – so many others around us go through the same thing. So I started feeling this push to go with this idea and share it with other people because maybe some good would come of it. It’s been said immeasurable times that you learn from pain and struggle, and that life experiences make you who you are. However, do we always think, “Hey this is awful, but I can be honest with others about how I’m feeling. I can talk to God about it. And I can make an effort to actively encourage others to do the same when they face their own challenges.” I’m not sure that thought process always occurs when we are feeling stuck in unfortunate circumstances. I certainly don’t always think that way, but I am trying. Always a work in progress.

I started searching the internet for all things “Belly of the Whale” to see if someone had already taken this idea or the name. Of course that term has been used for some things. So then I started thinking…how can I change it so it’s usable for this. I tried MANY variations and got back “this email is already taken” or “this username already exists” over and over again. Until I added the LOVE into the name. The only way I could really use the term “Belly of the Whale” was if I added Love to the name. Which, it turns out, is actually a majorly important part of the concept – LOVE The Belly Of The Whale (whatever belly you are in, whatever moment of your life).

So I really didn’t have much choice in the matter. God made it clear that without the love, this concept wasn’t much. And here we are, months later, I have finally decided I’m ready to get going and share it. 

I’m still figuring out how blogging works, how to run a website, how to do this whole sharing feelings – sharing ideas – sharing my artwork – publically thing…but I’m hoping there are people out there that will relate to what I’m saying and in turn, start relating more to others. 

I’m not an expert on anything, I’m not saying LTBOTW can solve anyone’s internal struggles, but the goal is that this will create togetherness in your own relationships, create more love in people’s hearts knowing that we all live in this fallen world dealing with the struggles that are a part of it, and we can help each other through it by reminding each other that God is in it all. We are called to love one another, and there needs to be more of that in this world.

So, Love the Belly of the Whale is what I would call a concept, present on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and whatever else down the road. The purpose is to foster a relationship with our struggles where we wade through them knowing God is still with us and remembering how blessed we are. The other purpose is that we react to other people’s struggles in a way that helps them do the same. Eventually I may be selling artwork I create based on this concept, making art-related videos, writing more blogs, and sharing other things I find that inspire this concept. 

This is the very beginning of this whole thing, so thank you in advance for your patience as I figure all the details of this out. I don’t have it all together yet, but if I waited until I felt like I had it all together…we all know how that goes!

I am not some Bible thumping Christian that’s going to judge you for every thought you have that’s different than mine, or dislike you because you don’t believe what I believe, or judge you because in my opinion your sin is worse than mine, or preach verses at you to try and force you into believing something. Those qualities are not reflective of true Christianity and, unfortunately, many have acted exactly those ways while calling it Christian faith. Side note: I don’t think Bible thumping is necessarily a negative thing, but many people use the term to mean something negative, which is why I used it up there.

I am a Christian that did not grow up believing the things I know to be true now. I am now a person who believes in the Gospel because the message is that love is the road to walk down and the best thing we can do in this life is love one another as God loves us. I am not perfect in this, it’s hard to love everyone unconditionally. I will always be a work in progress.

I am a person who came to this conclusion as an adult, and who is afraid that the relationships I had before might not last because some of those people think Christian automatically means you adopt the characteristics mentioned in my first paragraph, or whatever other characteristics match up with the idea you might have about what Jesus followers are like based on your life experience. 

I am a person who is nervous that the people of those relationships I am worried about will become uncomfortable, judgemental, assumptive, and distant toward me if I become more comfortable sharing my faith – even though the changes that are happening in me are GOOD for me and for others. This has been a roadblock for me personally. For that reason, I’m sharing these thoughts so I can leave them behind and move forward with what has been on my heart – sharing my faith, sharing my challenges, and hopefully creating a platform where people can feel encouraged by one another.

This is the belly I am currently stuck in, the challenge I feel like I’m facing, the band-aid I am ripping off, and my first step toward getting my Love the Belly of the Whale concept afloat (ha!).  

If you read this whole thing…hey thanks, that’s pretty cool. Maybe you’ll keep checking out my stuff! I’ll be making blog-like things, making art (possibly videos), maybe selling some of my art, and sharing inspiring stuff I find along the way.