“The word of God is a tree of life that offers us blessed fruit from each of its branches.”
St. Ephrem, deacon (306-373 A.D.)
Oh heyyy,
Soooo… do you have an anchor passage?
If you don’t have an anchor passage yet… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!
Okay, no judgment—I hadn’t really thought about it either until just recently. But once I did, I realized how powerful it is to have a go-to scripture to lean on when life feels like it couldn’t get any lower. Especially in times of desolation, you need this tool in your pocket to keep your faith unwavering.
Being a young woman is beautiful, but in all honesty, it comes with its own challenges and heartaches. Life throws curveballs, transitions hit hard, and sometimes, you just need something steady to hold onto. That’s why having a passage of scripture—a place to return to over and over again to remind us of God’s unchanging truth is so vital.
So, I must introduce my lovely and slightly wild friend (and roommate!).
Therese Blau!
Therese is one of the strongest, most faith-filled women I know. She’s wrestled with some hard things, yet she always comes out the other side with an unshakable trust in God. She has a humble strength unlike anyone I’ve ever met and contains such a large capacity to love. She is the one who introduced me to the idea of having a personal anchor passage to hold onto when life gets messy.
So, after a little sunshine and a few rounds of spike ball, I convinced her to share her story. I want to start with a bit about Therese, then, we can dive into the power of anchor passages. She will show us how to find an anchor passage, why they matter, and how they can transform your faith journey.
So yup… just going to say a quick prayer that she doesn’t say anything too out of pocket.
…hehe
Who are you?
Well, first and foremost, I’m a daughter of God. I grew up in a big Catholic family, one of nine kids. I love sunshine, outdoors, and sports. Sadly, I’m gluten-free, but am now a sourdough addict so that worked out. I’m currently a senior at UW-Platteville and will be a Focus missionary next year!
Where did your faith journey start?
I grew up in a very Catholic family, one of the ones that pray daily rosaries and homeschool their kids. While I was always, Catholic, my faith became my own right before college. I remember I was at a Catholic family camp we went to every summer when this first happened. I was wrestling with the idea that everyone loses their faith in college and that was when I decided that my faith was the one thing I did not want to lose. During adoration at the camp that week, I realized if I wanted to keep my faith, I was going to have to fight for it. After making that decision I had no idea how to go about keeping Christ in my life, but knew I was going to try my hardest. Thankfully, my freshman year, I met a Focus missionary who helped me learn how to do this.
A second moment of transformation happened during my freshman year at a Father’s House Retreat. This retreat was where I realized what it meant to live in the Father’s House. I learned how to receive God’s love, as well as how to forgive. That weekend was the first time I let go of many things that held me back from growing in relationship with God and began healing from childhood wounds.
What is an anchor passage?
An anchor passage is a passage in the bible you go back to. Whether it’s a hard day or prayer is dry, you can always find refuge in it. Especially in times of spiritual desolation, people can grow desperate and start reading into superstitious signs. Whether they are seeing into things or just flip to a random page in the bible, this is not ideal. Having an anchor passage gives people a way to look back and remember where God was in the moment when they found that verse. It’s a good reminder that if he was there in that moment, he will be there now.
How do you go about finding an anchor passage?
It can be as simple as looking up some good passages to start praying with. Often, as you pray with scripture more and more, you will just come to know which passages are your anchors. If you don’t read scripture a lot as it is, just start in the gospels and go from there. For me, I love the gospels because you are hearing the real words of Jesus speaking to us. If there aren’t any passages that come to mind, ask God to help you find one and then start praying with scripture frequently. He will provide.
What is your anchor passage?
“20 Suddenly, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak. 21 For she thought to herself, “If only I touch his cloak, I shall be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her, and he said, “Take heart, daughter! Your faith has healed you.” And from that moment the woman was cured. 23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead; she is asleep,” but they laughed at him. 25 When the people had been sent outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the little girl stood up. 26 And the news of this spread throughout the entire district.”
Mathew 9: 20-26.
In spiritual direction, I was told to find an anchor passage that I would be able to lean on through the rest of my life. Nothing came to mind right away, so she advised me to start praying through the gospels. As I was reading through Mathew I came across a page with a lot of underlines and sticky notes. I didn’t remember the last time I prayed with that passage, but clearly it had spoken to me. I was like okay, maybe I should pray through it again out of curiosity. So I did just that and thought “wow this is amazing.”
In the story this woman is struggling with hemorrhaging, which is nonstop bleeding. As she was crawling though the crowds she knew all she needed to do was to touch Jesus to be healed. She didn’t even have to talk to him! This was crazy concept to me in seeing her unwavering faith
How has this helped you in your life?
Coming back to college last year, I was just getting out of a year of pretty awful desolation. I felt as though I was starting at ground zero in a relationship with God, a spot I had never been in before. As I was struggling with the absence of God in prayer, I began to believe the lie that God was not listening to my prayers and was not there with me in hardships and daily life. At that point it felt like my faith life would never return to what it had been and that I was doomed for life. I wasn’t able to heal through some of the difficult struggles of that year due to the desolation, and worse, it felt like the desolation was my fault.
Reading through the story of the hemorrhaging women sparked something inside and I began praying on it. I realized if she can have this faith as she was crawling on the ground, why would God not want to help and heal and be with me and restore that relationship. Of course, I would believe Jesus would heal me if I was right there, but we literally go to mass and receive Him which is an even better gift than she had. Yet I still don’t believe He could restore what was lost. If I don’t have faith and trust that he can heal me, I will never be healed.
What is the difference between faith and trust?
Faith is the conscious belief in God’s plan and goodness. It is the metal part that is the foundation of trust. Meanwhile trust is my actions that show I truly have faith God will provide. Trust is more of the “I don’t know what will happen but I’m in,” whereas faith is the, “I know God is capable of this.” The hemorrhaging women had faith that Jesus could heal her and then had to trust that when she reached out, he would indeed heal.
What ways have you incorporated your anchor passage into daily life?
I incorporate this passage into my life by reminding myself that God will answer prayers and actively inviting God into even the silly little things. For example, when I’m at work and forget to pack food I tell the Lord I could really use some food. If the Lord knows I really need the food, he will provide it (Who knew random leftovers could answer prayers!). Or even in the bigger things, like worrying about being able to pay off college, especially after agreeing to give up the next two years of my life to mission work. When I gave it up to God and trusted He would provide, I randomly found out that I had a good chunk of money in a 529 account! It often takes incorporating trust in God in the silly little things to build up to trusting God in the bigger things as not only does Jesus desire to be in every little part of our days, but it also grows our relationship with Him.
So Yeah… Anchor Passages
Anyway, maybe the concept sounds silly, or too simple, but I can attest to the peace having a few passages to anchor you can be. I have three that I like to go back to as they have revealed foundational truths in my life throughout times of struggle. To be able to return to these truths in these passages time and time again has been extremely fruitful. I found mine naturally, and find myself flipping back to them often.
The three that I like to go back to are:
2nd Corinthians 12: 6-10: My go to when it feels like a hard situation is out of my control.
John 21: 1-14: My reminder that God is the only one who can change thing, so to give up all things (particularly in evangelization) to Him.
2nd Corinthians 3:12-18: Where I go when I am praying about becoming more Christ-like.
This week I want to challenge you to pray with a different passage of scripture each day this week, as well as to ask the Lord to reveal a passage of scripture that can be one of your anchors. For ideas, check out the FREE PDF I made!
Again, while this seems like such a simple concept, I hope it is able to bring about a new peace and stability into your prayer life.
P.S. If you want to support Therese in her mission work with a one time, or monthly donation, shoot her a text at: (608) 297-3167!
Praying for you always,
XOXO
Rory😊
What are your thoughts?