Pick 2

Arguably the greatest sandwich shop menu feature ever created is the pick 2. For basically the price of one menu item, you get 2 half menu items. At McCalisters, I get the half Italian sandwich with a cup of chicken tortilla soup. At Panera, I get a Sierra Turkey with French Onion soup or Mac & Cheese. Hannah Montana describes this menu feature best when she said "it's the best of both world" and truer words have not been spoken since. Today, I don't have a full blown entree for y'all readers. Instead, I have a Pick 2 type deal. Except my pick 2, you don't get to pick and it is easily more than a half plate each.

Meal 1: Be Hope, Not Just Hopeful

At my grandmothers funeral, I read one of the readings. The first words were from Romans 5 "and hope does not disappoint." During the time, it gave me comfort; however, I recently questioned the term hope. I mean how can hope not disappoint. I hope every year Purdue is going to get to the Final Four or be good at football. Every year, I'm disappointed. If I were a lawyer arguing against myself, I would say hope in this scenario is taken out of context. I'm trying to use a secular connotation and apply it to the religious which is like trying to fit a big square block in a round hole. This is true. I actually think the catechism definition of hope is pretty easy to understand, but for my secular crowd, do not worry I think this meal is edible for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

I want to break this down. First hope comes from a place of trust. Trust comes from a true relationship. It's difficult to have authentic hope in Christ's promise if we do not have a relationship with Him. Second, hope relies on something external. When we have hope, we recognize our lack of power. Thus, it recognizes the power of Christ and comes from humility. Finally, hope is in something greater. Typically, hope is in the face of some sort of darkness. In the case of this definition, hope is in the face of death and sin.

I titled this half sammy Be hope though...how can I be hope? Let me show instead of tell. You all probably know I'm diabetic and involved in the diabetes community. My first involvement in the diabetes community was selling willstrong shirts. These royal blue, ESPN font, cotton t-shirts sold like crazy. My community rallied around me and we sold probably 500 of the first run of shirts. We raised nearly $10,000 on shirts alone. Moreover, we did events from golf outings to fundraisers at the candy store to make nearly $20,000 raised in my name. All this money went to JDRF to find a cure. We were hopeful it would make a difference. We were hopeful everyone would be cured soon and we could say we help fund that medicine. I believe what we did was good, but we felt this sense of un-accomplishment. So, Diabetes Will's Way was born. My mother, godmother, and I decided to be hope. Through our organization, we build trust. We get to know them and their kids by name. We build a relationship that goes beyond the funds and we've built a reputation that gets passed along. We provide something external. Sometimes it's emotional support. Sometimes it's monetary support. Most of the time it's both of those. Sometimes it's a friendship. Sometimes it's the example of me for inspiration. Ultimately, for the over 200 families we've helped, they have faced the darkness of not knowing if they'd be able to afford supplies and our team has helped bring them something greater than that fear. This is being hope instead of being hopeful.

Oh so you're not diseased or have a charity to get behind or anything like my story? Good, it's my story. I'm gonna tell you a big truth about yourself. You have a LOAD of goodness within you. A bucket load, a truck load, heck maybe even a $h*t load. Whether you know it or not, it is in you. The thing about goodness, though, is it ain't meant for yourself. The goodness you have is part of the hope someone else needs. The hope to face a darkness. Nope, not the same hope the catechism describes, but a God-given hope nonetheless. For example, your hope could be success in a class you took this semester that someone is struggling with next semester. Your hope could be learning to organize yourself after you struggled with it and now someone else is needing a way to get organized. Your hope could be time to give to someone who needs comfort in grief, friendship in loneliness, or a smile on a sad day. Your hope could be the hardwork you are putting in to achieve something like graduating, landing a job or promotion, or being a great musician. You might not see the way that you are being hope to someone or your current goodness might not be current hope. It can be an example that provides hope later, inventoried hope if you will. My point is this: being hope doesn't have to be a charity or a movement. It can be simple and maybe all the more powerful. Be hope, not just hopeful.

Meal 2: (sorry no spoilers on this one)

2 cables

1 nugget of wisdom

3 episodes

A bundle of senior speeches

1 great job

1 new? podcast

5 or so rides

2 cables- I had this situation that felt too teed up for me to help. I left about 10 minutes early to go to a work hangout. Just as I open my driver's side door, the car right next to me tries to start their car and its dead. I am parked in the literal corner of the lot so I only have one car nearby. I hear them say something about not having cables. I asked if they needed help and surely they did. I took the jumper cables out of my trunk that my dad so generously gave me. Then, I jumped their car and off I went.

1 nugget of wisdom- I got to talk to formed Colts player Joe Reitz. He told me that "only foolishness is original, all wisdom is stolen." Both a pride hit and an important reminder.

3 episodes- I am now 3 episodes into my podcast. I am just loving every chance I get to talk to these players. It's a dream come true. They impress me with their generosity, their intelligence, and their love. They continue to make my podcast better than I hoped it could be. Stay tuned for episode 3 to be released soon!

A bundle of senior speeches- For my job (intramurals), the seniors on staff give speeches at the end of the semester. It's something not every place can do because not every workplace has the same culture. This culture is loving and advice giving. This culture is respectful and goofy. This culture is something I feel like I missed out on honestly. I decided to give my time elsewhere more often and sometimes I regret it. However, now, I appreciate it all the more. An echoing theme of advice from the seniors was "leave your baggage at the door." Sounds kinda harsh to me at first, but I think it's perfect for work. It allows us to enjoy our shift and enjoy each other. It allows us to be present at the workplace and do our job to the best of our ability. I do think this is a good think for work. However, I want my loved ones to know their "baggage" does not need to be hidden or left at my door. It's apart of you and therefore a part of something I love.

1 great job- Beyond just senior speeches, I have been loving my job. Most people in intramurals love this job because they love the people they work with. For me, that's true. But I also just love the job. It brings out my extroverted side. I get to form relationships with people. I get to see just how many people intramural sports impacts positively. I get to be a part of people's personal and professional growth. I learn so many different things about conflict management and people management. I walk out of every shift energized and happy, even if shift ends at 12:45am and I have an 8:30 the next morning.

1 new? podcast- I am not starting a new podcast. Heck, I can barely keep up with the one. However, I do have a new podcast that is a part of my life. I just took a job as Purdue Basketball's "Boilerball podcast" production assistant. It is a sweet sweet opportunity. My favorite part so far is how willing my boss is to listen to me. He clearly admits his shortcomings and now he is ready for feedback on how to improve the podcast. I love this humility and desire to get better. I think our world needs a lot more leaders like that.

5 or so rides- I love offering rides. I love driving people to disc golf, work, spikeball, home etc. I'm often a sober driver by choice. I just enjoy giving people safe transportation, singing in the car, and helping people out. It's such a simple thing to offer, but I find people are often really thankful for it.

This takeaway is directly stolen from the I heard this weekend: You can only give what you have first received. I was only able to help out these random people because my dad gave me the knowledge and tools to jump the car. He also has given me the same help in a million different forms. I've realized from highlighting these athletes that they were able to give because much love, spirit of generosity, and advice has been given to them. My job and the seniors bring me so much joy because they put time and energy into me and my development. I am able to give feedback to my podcast job because all the teachers, co-workers, and friends who have given feedback to me on how to be better. I know no matter how many rides I give, it will not equal the amount of driving my parents and sisters have done for me. And when I think I do service or good in a way I have not received, I remembered God gave me infinite grace through His Only Son.

In part, I bring this up to stir up gratitude. I know I was extra thankful for my padre when reflecting on this. It's also very humbling. In larger part, I bring this up to highlight the importance of the Eucharist, adoration, scripture and prayer. If we receive the love of Christ more frequently, we are more able to give the love of Christ more frequently. But, I also want to highlight one more thing. We can't expect people to give what they haven't been given. A lot of people aren't lucky enough to have had friends who show up, appropriate support during hardships, or knowledge of how to process emotions. There's so many more things I could list. My point is sometimes we might be the first to give someone a specific goodness. Be slow to judge and quick to give. Mother Teresa said what I'm trying to say a little clearer. "People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness people maybe jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today maybe forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Givethe world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. "

Be hope, not just hopeful and be kind anyway.