Spring is here, and as you know, dear friends, life is inevitable.

I saw my shadow during an eight-mile training hike this morning with the Cleveland Hiking Club, yet I was not going to retreat.

I and you, unlike creatures, we are made in the image of One Who fights battles. The ground has been cracked open, to emerge, to enter a bright world, to work and dwell in an age where every hour is golden.

Time dispensed for us, yes, this world created to be inhabited by us, came with a weapon. The first gift given to mankind was language. Through it, the world was turned upside down, and furthermore set us on a trajectory that would propel our population on its destined course. Whether Scriptures or our founding documents, it was the composition of words that set forth the plan, the call, and what was intended for our existence.

It was written, in the tongue there lie, within, life or death. We are all carriers of such, yet not to be concealed, we watch and wait, and know when to release. As watchmen and watchwomen, we keep swords sharp in the waiting, so that a single, genuine word, or conversation, can direct our enemy or bring a friend under the wing.

It was my duty as a receptionist to enact enthusiasm and belief in the service I was offering to the clientele entrusted to me. Such repeated practice of refusing to be swayed by disposition or mood of the public, contributed to my training of the urgency of allowing that man or woman to believe in what I did too. What I believed in was the gift he or she had inside of him or her, but perhaps that individual did not even know it yet.

Clients came to the clinic where I worked to have unwanted hair removed from a laser. Abdullah, had cerebral palsy and was brought in a wheelchair by his mom, for backside hair to be removed for hygiene purposes. High school girls came with their moms for hirsutism, a symptom of this condition, being excess hair due to hormones. Women with Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, as I was diagnosed with at one point, would share their struggles with infertility. Everyday, I talked to men disillusioned in believing they were women, and was witness to co-workers who would celebrate their "journey,” while I hoped that when these individuals looked into my eyes at the desk, the overcoming light would perhaps allow him to see his true identity.

Power befell me, not only in what I said, how I spoke, or what I had to do, but here, at a desk, the revelation given to me of this training ground, encompassing friends, foes, and all walks of life, more than made up for any seemingly feelings of loneliness. Without vision, woman perishes, and for my ability to see the purpose of my interactions, well, I knew it was mercy that allowed me to be so awake.

Held close to us, is a peacekeeper’s rifle. When questioned recently, the most powerful presidential leader of our time said he wants to be remembered as a man who enacted peace. The woke will be awakened, we must believe that, for this is a teaching time. Informed persuasion will come by our examples of being upstanding, law-abiding citizens who no matter where we find themselves, will exercise our authority with common sense,  and with a desire for all to come under the same helm of unity. 

Invaders come to disrupt the harmony of our oiled machines of business as well as the anointed, and in January 2024, an intruder came into the laser hair removal clinic where I worked. Police report and diminished quality of my workplace, shot me out to, new mission field.

Around this time, my involvement with MCFAN began, and I met our leader, Lisa. Physical training ensued, in learning self-defense from her, meeting passionate Patriots, and being summoned to communicate and advocate for the authenticity of the small-town, grassroots cause we are a part of. The newly learned arm maneuver, or thousands of steps taken during a hike in the Creator’s creation, may transpire to a thousand words as it does today. I have learned the age-old wisdom of picking, arm or leg up, to put down, message of sound mind groaning to communicate.

It is no surprise that my newly secured work is for the OBGYN group of Summa Health here in Akron, where the culture of new life is in full bloom. I had mentioned to a woman at church I was looking for work, and she said she would forward my resume and let the hiring manager know. On a Monday, I was told there were no open positions. Yet, four days later, that Friday, my new friend texted me and said, “Brita, a receptionist just put in her two-week notice.” Without even applying, the hiring manager agreed to meet with me, and said there was an opening at the Cuyahoga Falls location, ten minutes up the hill from where I live in the Cuyahoga Valley. I was offered the position, with more compensation than my previous job, and to come alongside women in need, both those I work with and for.

I could not have authored such events as those which have marked my life these past three months, nor the daily miracles in months and years prior, but I know they were all necessary for my understanding of how I can best make the most of the time afforded me. For we are all terminal, we are all broken, and yet, what is suffered in time, will be celebrated with an army who knows the beat of eternal march.

Whether we are laymen in an office, or taking an oath of office, no work done unto the kingdom, is too) small, too insignificant, to shake those from slumber, aim to impart knowledge and educate the seeker, or hit the mark with a sincere word. The Almighty’s wisdom will Trump much of man’s philosophy, and it is time to sound the alarm for the day at hand. As a receptionist, I always say, the first appointment I schedule is for myself- to resolve the night.

On the horizon? To continue to build the culture of life, in obedience and discipline to what is what required of me that day. I stay open and welcome “interruptions” or things to be available to my fellow who fights for freedom. This year offers the possibility of love, hiking miles of trails, exercising poetic verse, attacking the enemy head-on while keeping a soft heart, laughter with comrades, and prayer for protection and diligence to stay the course.

My father said to me this past year, Einstein developed his theory of relativity while working as a clerk in a patent office. It was 1905, and referred to as his, “miracle year.” Being open and seeking with my whole heart, gave way to the revelatory insight given unto me while working as a receptionist. Now, after forty years of sojourner, I am positioned in a “promised year,” taking footsteps on my homeland, the place where babies are not just delivered, but so are promises.

Brita