In April of 2019, I received a call from a doctor in Nashville, TN to tell me my mother was being put on hospice. That was on a Friday evening before my son graduated from college. The following Wednesday, May 1, my job let me go due of my position was being eliminated. With tear-filled eyes, I drove back down I-85 straight to my community office to give notice to the property manager to vacate my apartment in Atlanta. Yes! I cried because I questioned what was happening. I cried because I was scared. Once I finished crying that day, I jumped up and started packing and planning. This was before my awakening and I knew then that there were no coincidences.
Shortly after moving back to Nashville to be with my mother during her final days on earth, I went with a friend to The Goodwill. As we browsed for fun like it was a scavenger hunt, I saw this picture. It drew me in immediately. I picked it up and noticed it was a signed print and looked to be an original. I shared it with my friend and she was also intrigued with the print. I bought it for $4.99 that day.
I took it home but didn’t hang it as I moved it around from room to room and continued studying and meditating on it. Each time I looked at it, I heard the infamous quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
If you carefully look at the picture, you don’t see the whole staircase. You can’t see the beginning and you don’t know where it ends. If there was ever a time in my life that I didn’t know where my staircase started and where it ended it was that period of my life. Moving out of state, taking care of my mother, changing careers, seeing my son graduate from college, and then him moving to Dallas temporarily. I had more major changes and challenges than I had ever had before in my life. I had no other choice but to take one step at a time and practice my faith and my belief in God that it was all going to work out.
I now have that hanging in my office in my Atlanta home. I look at it often and remember that time in my life. It makes me feel thankful. I thank God that it all worked out and that I was able to see my sign at The Goodwill to know it was going to be okay. It was my sign that gave me hope and to practice my faith. My life was much like that staircase, I couldn’t see all of it but I believed it was only going to go up.
I encourage you to reflect on this great quote today from Martin Luther King, Jr. as we honor one of the greatest trailblazers ever. Think about what it means to you and how it applies to your life today or a time in your past. Thank you Dr. King for giving us this great quote for hope and inspiration.
Dealing to Healing 