To the Man I’m Becoming

To the Man I’m Becoming

At times, I anxiously anticipate you.

At times, I patiently wait.

But now I understand—

every hardship is sacred ground.

It is fire, forging steel.

It is pressure, making diamonds.

It is the sacrifice

of those who walked before me.

As I walk through the valley

of my own shadow,

I meet the boy I used to be,

I face the fool I once became,

And I finally understand—

the best part about losing yourself

is what you find in the ashes.

A deeper knowing.

A stronger heart.

A purpose reborn.

I trust that God will allow me

to pass on what I’ve learned—

not just in words,

but in the life I build.

To teach the next generation,

and the ones still to come,

to lay foundation

in the holes I once dug,

so they may plant trees

whose shade I may never sit under.