Hold The Vision

Hold the vision. Trust the process.

I’m a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I can’t really say that anymore since I haven’t trained in about two years. In the months leading up to my BB test, our master instructor grilled us.

I would come out of training each week drenched in sweat. Sometimes I would cry in the bathroom. He would say, “Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.” It was hard work.

For my BB test, I had to know five patterns, write a pattern and a paper, break boards, and spare with someone. My master instructor liked to put me with the 6’4″ guys. Go ahead and laugh.

I knew I was terrible at sparing, but I could do patterns in my sleep. On the day of the test, I completely froze on one of the easier patterns. Like, I started over 3x times, but my mind went blank and muscle memory was no help. (I still hate 3rd pattern, btw)

I knew that was it. I was there in the middle of the floor with 30 classmates watching who all knew I totally bombed. I would have to retest. Then, at the end of class I was awarded my BB.

I asked why and this is what he told me:

It was all a test. The last four months and today. You nailed the patterns every week. You kept showing up. You trained other students while training yourself. Everyone misses something on test day, but I know that you know it because I’ve seen it over and over again.

Consistency is what tells the world we are ready to lead. Keep showing up. Keep doing the work. Keep sweating and crying and do it again and again.

#womenclergy #Lent #leadership