This weekend the training wheels come off. My daughter is at the age where she wants to ride her bike like the big girls do.

I’ve been through this twice before. There is a nervous anticipation on this day of transition as Dad holds the seat pushing the bike ever faster, rider clutching the handlebars ever tighter. The excitement in the rider’s mind tempered by the thoughts of what could happen when Dad lets go.

I’ve been working on a transition of my own, removing some of my own spiritual training wheels. My transition is about moving from a mindset of hope to faith.

I do profess to be a man of faith. But in those moments of trial, I often find my thoughts coming from outside the framework of faith, relying more on the familiar refrain of hope.

DIVINE EXPECTATIONS Hope is inherently uncertain, a prayerful wish for a desired outcome. But I’m at a point where hope just isn’t enough. It’s time for a different conversation with God.

Moving from hope to faith is a huge step, the biggest step of my meandering spiritual journey. It involves trusting more than yourself and what you think you know to be true. It involves looking beyond what is and finding the strength and peace in something greater than you which is already residing within you.

Faith carries with it a divine expectation, a trust and acceptance that all will be exactly as it should be, regardless of my worldly expectations or demands. Hope’s passive nature is contrasted by faith’s proactivity. Faith requires me to actively trust and allow, to receive and not resist, to align and then realign myself with my Creator…all necessary components in my attempts to fully express all I have been created to become.

Working towards becoming all I have been created to become creates a beautifully codependancy; God needs me to step up in order to fulfill His promise for me, and I need Him to help me get there. Hope would never get me this far.

How far will hope get you in your life?

Once my daughter’s training wheels come off, I’m sure her initial attempts at riding a two-wheeler will be anything but smooth. I have the same expectations on my ongoing transition towards embracing a deeper, more trusting level of faith. But time and practice will certainly make us both more proficient.

It’s a great day to be you!