Hope is intoxicating. Powerful, overwhelming hope infuses one with courage and inner strength. It is easy to forget that hope is not the same as arriving at the destination. It may feel like hope and arriving are the same thing, but, as Life keeps reminding me, there is a lot of work between the present and the future. There are stairs to climb, doors to enter, and darkness to be conquered.
As children of athletes remind me, Kobe Bryant is an example, being a child of an athlete does not automatically grant one the title and status as the same. You are required to earn it, one step at a time. To be truly great requires discipline, putting in the time and work, and a willingness to learn and grow. An old warning is still true; “If you’re brought up Jewish, don’t assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you’re an insider to God’s revelation,” (Romans 2.17)
Parents can share their stories, support where helpful, and cheer every step. There is a harsh reality that takes me back to the first point. Parents, our community, cannot walk for us. My journey is just that, mine. The steps I take determine my destination. My willingness to endure, to keep going when it seems impossible, is essential to the story that is uniquely my own.
I see steep steps and dark doorways ahead of me. It is as if I am wandering through Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg in Alsace France. I am unsure where this stairway will lead. It is daunting to consider the unknown. At the same time, I am infused by the hope Divinity offers as gifts through family, friends, and experiences along the way. If there is anything I can offer from the perspective of a journey spanning decades, it is the hope that each step is part of the true destination. It is in living each step that we reveal the destination. Each moment is our opportunity to discover and experience our destiny.
