When I First Saw True Happiness and Peace in Action

The phrase, “everything is going to be alright,” was recently highlighted in our rector’s Sunday sermon. His message was that some people seem on a different track than the rest of us — a path where they know “everything will be alright.” I thought of my stepdad. In my 30 years of knowing him, he’s never appeared scared or worried.

Soon after he came into my life, a US conflict escalated to levels I had not witnessed. I was in college and terrified at the thought of war. In my mind, we were in a situation that could turn into Vietnam, and I watched the events unfold with increasing alarm.

My stepdad had navigated many charged international affairs during his years in the foreign service, and I looked to him for guidance. As I peppered him with my questions and controlled panic, I remember him smiling at me and saying, “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be alright.”

It was a defining moment.

Part of me thought, “how could it possibly be alright? Look at what is happening!”

But the kindness in his eyes, the lightness of his presence, the joy he maintained, and the certainty he brought with his assurances gave me a glimpse into another way of viewing and experiencing the world. The years unfolded in our new life as a combined family.