What does it mean to live a holy life? When I hit a rough patch, this is something I like to think about.

I remember the first time I posed this question. I was going through some emotional turmoil, and as I was struggling daily to feel peaceful, the word holy kept coming to mind. As I pondered its meaning, I thought of purity, glorifying God, self-forgetfulness, and goodness.

When I looked deeper, I found the following description in Webster's Dictionary from 1828: "We call a man holy, when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by divine precepts." Striving for purity, glorifying God, practicing selflessness, and doing or being good certainly seemed like excellent ways of conforming my heart to the image of God. I clung to these concepts and really worked at practicing them in thought and action. Although I didn't always feel a sense of peace during that emotional period, I was given glimpses of it.

Continually going back to the definition of holy became for me a saving grace in feeling an overall sense of God's care during that time. Frequent glimpses of peace were enough to keep me moving forward until the healing was complete. The emotional turmoil I'd been feeling was eventually replaced with a steadiness. I felt whole again.

As I've continued to hone my understanding of what it means to live a holy life, it's become a goal for me to find more ways in which I can best discover my purpose in any given moment; how I can best be what God intends for me to be (and knows that I am).

CULTIVATING THANKFULNESS

To me, gratitude is essential in striving to live a holy life. During the Thanksgiving season, people will often make gratitude lists. But why wait for a holiday? The rest of the year is an equally good time! Granted, it's tough to truly feel grateful when you're dealing with emotional, mental, or physical challenges. In these instances, I believe it's OK to simply acknowledge our blessings, however modest they are. The deeper feelings of gratitude will come eventually, but building a habit of acknowledging blessings as gifts from God will help jump-start joy.

I found this to be true a few years ago when, for the start of graduate school, I'd moved back to my hometown of Seattle. I struggled being around family regularly again after living away and on my own for over ten years. In addition, I seemed to have a hard time meeting people in the community. I'd let my earlier Seattle connections drift away, and found myself clinging to phone calls with friends spread out across the country and other parts of the world as a reminder that I wasn't alone. My self-pity level was high, and it wasn't the proudest time for me. But through some concerted prayer and an honest desire to strive for holiness, glorifying God, I was able to acknowledge my blessings.

I created a gratitude list, and while it started small, it eventually became quite lengthy. Naturally, after a couple of months, this acknowledgment did turn into deep gratitude, and was supplemented by some practical steps that led me to make new connections through school, work, and volunteering.

When Mary Baker Eddy asks the question in Science and Health, "Are we really grateful for the good already received?" (p. 3), it's followed with the assertion that if we are grateful, we will be fitted to receive more blessings. I think this doesn't necessarily mean that we'll suddenly be given loads of new sources of goodness. Rather, when we start to recognize the present good, even in a small way, we are then open to realizing how many blessings there already are in our lives.

RELINQUISHING (FALSE) RESPONSIBILITY

I've found that holy living includes letting go of any false responsibility. When this follows on the heels of gratitude, it becomes easier to release personal opinions, too. This may relate to one's own situation, or even when trying to help others. Regardless, I'm learning it's important to have a deeper understanding of God's control and to release this very personal feeling of burden.

As a high school guidance counselor, I find myself having to practice this regularly. While it's easy to be thankful for my job, it can sometimes be tempting to feel helpless as I hear students' situations. Some have histories that are heartbreaking—a long list of tragedies. One student I talked with had dreams of an educated future free from an environment that included gangs, drugs, and poverty. His aspirations seemed to be constantly interrupted by obstacles. While it was initially tempting to worry about him and figure out how I could personally step in and fix his situation, I was able to let go of my own sense of responsibility by recognizing God's direct and unfailing care.

The fact was, this student had never been outside God's love, and never would be.

I like something Mary Baker Eddy states in Science and Health, referring to generic man: "Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being" (p. 63). This tells me that there's no need for me to worry or feel personally responsible for getting someone's life on "holy ground." It was very clear to me that this student had a purposeful vision for his future. He handled every obstacle with grace and perseverance, and his self-advocacy helped him find the resources he needed. Because I glimpsed how his life is always governed by God, it allowed me to simply be thankful that I could support him as he focused on pursuing his own path, which included getting his GED and enrolling in a community college.

SERVING OTHERS THROUGH SERVING GOD

This naturally permeates a holy life. I've seen how it can be achieved in various ways, all dependent on the unique gifts we've been blessed with. I love to think about how Jesus was a prime example of living to serve God and humanity. He both taught and lived his holy purpose on a daily basis. He was compassionate toward others, and yet he didn't teach that disease or poverty had any hint of truth. Instead, he worked to help others understand the reality of God's loving care, and the sheer powerlessness and unreality of sickness, sin, and death. He healed, he loved, he served.

I've realized that our individual abilities and talents determine how we can best serve. For instance, I love to sing. The more I sing, the more joyful I feel. Sharing music creates a sense of connection and fellowship with others, and nurturing a talent that God has given me is one way of acknowledging divine grace in my life. In this way I know that I'm serving God, and when I share this gift through song, I get an opportunity to serve others at the same time. By creating a connection, and sharing my love of music, I hope to provide an opportunity for joy to be "contagious."

This "action step" of service always energizes me, and I tend to want to rush into it! However, I've learned that a true sense of holiness doesn't come without gratitude and a release of personal responsibility. A deep and abiding joy in doing God's will is achievable if we acknowledge how He is already at work in our lives and accept all the good that accompanies this fact.

Striving to live a holy life can sometimes sound a bit overwhelming. However, when this becomes one's central purpose, it lightens life's load. I've found that if I keep this at the forefront of my thoughts, my actions are aligned with God, divine Soul, and I feel a deeper sense of joy. Then, the rough patches, while still challenging, simply offer more opportunities to deepen my awareness of God.

I'm convinced that we're all meant to live a holy life. CSS