March Forth

It was mere weeks before I would lose my mother. I was completely oblivious on March 4, 2022 that these words would take hold and be part of what buoyed me through the darkest days I had yet experienced when I saw a post on socials that read the following:

"I can't tell you the hardest days are behind you, but I can tell you certain dates hold hidden encouragement.

Today is one of them.

March 4th."

Immediately loving the subtle double entendre that was the homophone pronunciation between "fourth" and "forth," I was further enchanted by the true intent of the post: keep going.

The post was accompanied by lovely words from the original poster elaborating on the simple message that equally enhanced and proclaimed the herald instructions. I took it all to heart and have thought of these words many times in the years that have followed. I have shared it with my kids, hoping their little hearts would hear the hope that after a long winter season, even the calendar is beckoning us forward. I also presented it to my students last year; few "got" it, even fewer received it. But the seed was hopefully planted in all their little weary hearts that maybe they too can one day be encouraged by this simple statement.

Maybe it's my love for marching band and the indelible courage those years of my life gave me, or maybe it's just my penchant for the power of words, but this small lifeline has made a profound impact that I won't stay quiet about.

Life is life-ing a lot lately. For everyone. No one is immune to it if you're breathing. You don't even have to be interested or paying attention - the machine of the world is grinding at a pace none of us can withstand for long. It doesn't matter your station in life, your outlook on good and bad, or your own way of surviving, you're in it whether you want to be or not and sometimes the waves of a gigantic, unknown ocean are bargaining for your next breath. We need simple instructions in times like these.

March forth.

Keep going.

Push forward.

I say this as much to myself as anyone else, which is largely what this forum is for anyway. But maybe there is so much to be offered from two small words that the rest of the world could benefit from too.

In a world that is centered on results, it can seem futile to continue to strive ahead when it seems our feet are stuck in the depths of quicksand. Purpose and resolve and sheer will suddenly play a vast role in making sense of our everyday, in putting reason behind each step we courageously make. The Bible puts it this way in Galatians 6, verse 9:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

That's a big "if" sometimes, isn't it? "If we do not give up."

So while none of us may know when our harvest is going to be ripened, or in some cases, what that harvest even is, the intent is still the same: keep going. Because it's worth it.