Where Hope Lives

I’ve been looking forward to this moment.

I first heard Amanda Gorman’s voice online as I watched her recite “The Miracle of Morning” from the LA Public Library. That’s when I learned that she was the first Los Angeles youth poet laureate. As a fellow native Angeleno, I was inspired by her words ringing out through the halls of one of my favorite places.

Today, as a fellow American, I am thankful for her hopeful words at the presidential inauguration. These words remind us that what our country looks like and how it moves forward have far more to do with the attitudes and perspectives of each and every one of us than any political office or name on a ballot.

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters…seek the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ~ Jeremiah 29:5-7