Finding the “instruction manual” to life

Before Kira-Shay Barber found the Baha’i Faith, she says working through her life was like “trying to assemble the world’s most impossible piece of IKEA furniture with no instructions”. 

“Then suddenly, you’re handed an instruction manual and everything just makes sense,” the 27-year-old exclaims. 

“You might not always get it right, and you might have to try a couple times, but you get there, and you get there easier.”

Growing up in a single-parent household and exposed to substance abuse, Kira-Shay Barber says her trust in people, religion and the world was very much tarnished by her surroundings. 

“Religion in my family was spoken of in a ‘I believe there’s something out there’ way.”  

A mother at 17, Kira says she “really started to see for myself what religion could be”. “I joined a church in 2017, when looking for meaning and reason in my own life.” 

But the words coming from those within the church didn’t seem to translate into action, and it wasn’t long before Kira stopped attending and pursued her own spiritual path. Struggling through life, she still had faith that there had to be “something”. 

“I believed in God, I believed there’s a plan. I believed in something bigger than this world. 

“I went on to consider myself spiritual, not believing there was a category for me to fit in. I lived 25 years in blind bitter resentment. 

“Life was nothing more than something I had to endure, rather than something I was incredibly lucky to live. I turned away from who and what I thought God was.” 

But Kira says she always “ached for more”. In 2024, she moved to Victoria and after giving birth to her son, she was exploring her council-facilitated school holiday programs at the local shopping centre. That’s when things took a turn. 

“Not long after starting our activity, I was approached by a woman with her two children, asking if they could sit with us for the activity. Then her other friend and her children also joined. This led to friendly conversation.”

It was discovered that the women Kira had met and their children all attended the same school as her own child. Kira and her family were invited to the local spiritual educational classes unfolding at the primary school every week. “They told me to bring my family, there’s songs and classes for the kids and you can mingle with other parents in your local community. Never having attended or even being invited to such an event, I just had to see for myself.” 
 
Kira says her family felt “a little apprehensive” at first and were not expecting to be so welcomed, but were “immediately loved and supported”. “The children start singing songs of unity and love and peace, I look over to my husband who has the same glimmer of a tear in his eye. If I could describe this moment to anyone it would be as if the world itself paused to listen.” 
 
Following her introduction to the local community-building activities, Kira’s friendships started to grow. She became more acquainted with the Baha’i Faith, asked questions, bought books, spoke to many members of the community, attended social events and Baha’i-inspired activities, and even started assisting with spiritual educational classes for children. “I was enthralled.” 

“It was like I had breathed air for the first time. Everything in life clicked for me in these small moments and learning more felt like blessing after blessing.”

During a visit with one of her friends, Kira was presented with a Baha’i registration card. Her friend explained that if she ever felt impelled to formally register as a Baha’i, the community was open to everyone. She could either sign a card or verbally declare her belief in Baha’u’llah. 

On 5 June 2025, on the Baha’i Feast of Nur (Light), Kira and her family of four officially declared their faith in Baha’u’llah. She said she chose this particular evening because her name itself means ‘light’, so it felt fitting. 

 “We now raise our children within the Faith,” Kira, who is pregnant with her third child, says.

“I cannot tell anyone the peace in my life this has brought me, the healing I have done and how different of a person I am today.   

“Meeting these women was an act of God itself. This community has brought purpose, hope and peace. And I hope to spread the word to as many others as possible.”