Challenge of Faith, learned to overcome obstacles, overcome my problems,
Mariana: ‘I was going through a very rough patch in my life. There were problems in my family, I felt troubled and anxious. At the same time, Gustavo was facing financial problems. Nothing was happening in his life and it left him with a deep sadness and low self-esteem. He didn’t know how to help me, nor could I help him.
My aunt who attends the Universal, encouraged me to get help there and I did. I was warmly received and began to learn how to tackle and overcome my problems. I was very excited about this opportunity for change that seemed to have worked for so many people, but Gustavo was not interested. That frustrated me. I realised that this big difference in the way we thought and our goals was not healthy for our relationship; it was creating a distance between us.
At first, my attitude was to try to convince him at any cost that he should attend the meetings with me so that we could fight together to overcome our problems. I thought if I was pushy and nagging, he would understand
how important the guidance was for both of us, but that didn’t work. If anything, it would only irritate him all the more.
Among the things I was learning, I heard about the method of the Challenge of Faith and I decided to try it for myself. Taking part in it gave me the assurance that God could do what I could not do and also make Gustavo understand what I could not explain to him. And that’s exactly what happened.’
‘I could see her life changing for the better’
Gustavo: ‘I was completely unhappy with my life, but I was so discouraged that I did not believe that anything offered at the Universal could help me. It seemed so unrealistic so I would always turn down Mariana’s invitations. She was trying to show me the opportunity I was missing, but I was too upset by her insistence that I isolated myself. But little by little I began to notice that she stopped pestering me to go with her. At the same time, it was impossible for me not to notice that the more she attended, the better the situation in her family became.
There was also a big change in her, she was much calmer, happier and confident. The way she acted upon her beliefs began to influence me in a good way. I could see her life changing for the better and though I was stubborn to admit it, I wanted the same. I didn’t want mine to remain the same, so I decided to put my pride aside and attend the Universal meetings with her.
I understood that in order to achieve my goals, I had to put my faith into action. This meant that I had to go against my sadness and fight with confidence for the things I needed, for example, a new job. It was only after I did this that things started to improve for me. I got a good job, regained my self-esteem and learned to overcome obstacles with an intelligent faith. Thanks to the Universal’s help and support, we have managed to overcome our difficulties and now work together to build our lives.’
Mariana: ‘Today, my family is blessed, as is my marriage with Gustavo. We are a team and happy!’
Gustavo & Mariana Figueiredo
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