Her mom taught her three specific words in a very important order. “Faith. Facts. Feelings.” These three words would be repeated anytime a challenge arose or a decision was faced, “Remember, we focus first on faith, then on the facts, and finally on our feelings.” As evidenced by the rosy cheeks on her adult daughter’s face, this mother’s advice is wise and practical, trusting and enduring.

The engine of our train is driven by our faith in the LORD. When facing a challenge or making a decision, first we focus on God’s character, who He has been, who He is now, and who He will always be. We remember how the LORD is actively at work in this world, as evidence by the rhythms of nature and the pages of scripture, the movement of the Holy Spirit and the stories of faithful followers. We surrender ourselves in faith to the God who is working into good all of the details of our daily life.

The cargo car of our train carries the facts, just the facts. Concrete details. Tangible truths. Both short term and long term possibilities. What do we know clearly? What options are available? What is our list of pros and cons? Educating ourselves on the facts of our situation helps us to endure extreme hardship and informs us as we make difficult decisions.

Bringing up the rear comes the caboose of our train, filled to the brim with our mixed emotions. When we put feelings in the caboose, our caboose becomes a place of prayer. We climb aboard, slide the door shut, and sort out our jumbled feelings with the God who knows our deepest needs. We do not deny our emotions, we explore them honestly with the LORD, but we do not let our feelings drive our train.

When faith in the LORD remains our train’s powerful engine and the facts are hooked in, stabilized, then our feelings can be sorted through, prayerfully mulled over between our true self and our God. Maintaining the correct order, faith, facts, then feelings, we travel down the tracks set before us, into the bright future dotting our horizon. Your future will be bright by far than your past. Our ancestors were wise, so learn from them. Our own time has been short, like a fading shadow, and we know very little. But they will instruct you with great understanding (Job 8:7-10, CEV).

“Faith. Facts. Feelings,” one wise mother instructs her daughter, who in turn instructs the next generation.