First Steps

When I moved home in the summer of 2007, I was taking the next steps to a new journey that included being closer to my family and challenging myself to the next level of my academic journey. As I've tried to get my footing on this new ground, I wobbled and fell to my knees a few times.

Fast forward to the birth of Jacob Charles. Because I've been home, I was around for his birth, the joy he brings to the world, and the role of being a God Father. What does that title entail? It is my job to assist my nephew with all the steps taken in life, even the spiritual ones.

Last night, I was there for an additional challenge. The twins from Liberia were with me and they encouraged Jacob's stability on two feet and coached him towards the upward mobility and confidence it takes to put one foot in front of the other. It is Ramadan, and they are also fasting, and driven to prayers several times a day. While they cheered Jacob on, Dave was able to explain to Sean about the twins' prayers and rituals of being Muslim.

In the strange way the world works, I can't help but think that their world of prayers, their stories of making it in America, and now, their friendship with my family, was meant to happen. They've helped me, as a God Father, to be around for my God son's next steps in life. I am at a place where I will be slowly trying to stand upward, myself, to write about the world they've allowed me through their conversations, memories, and experiences. As the Fall comes forward (and I hope I don't fall), I will be using my fingers to move forward, myself, and to make sense of the knowledge they've given me come alive with my studies in literacy.

So, J.C., you and I are in a similar place. As the film, Slum Dog Millionaire, declared, "It is written." And it is written in a karmic way.