IN THE 1600’S, A GREAT FIRE swept through the city of London. It razed buildings, took lives, and left ashen remains. Architect Christopher Wren took on the task of rebuilding St. Paul’s Cathedral, a beacon of hope within the city that pointed people to God. One day, as he walked through the worksite overseeing the reconstruction, he came across one of the workers laying bricks. He asked him what he was doing.

“What does it look like? I’m laying bricks,” the worker replied.

Christopher continued to walk the site and asked a second worker what he was doing.

The second bricklayer responded, “I’m earning a living.”

Later, Christopher approached a third bricklayer and asked him the same question.

The third worker exclaimed with passion, “I’m building a great cathedral for Almighty God!”

Each of these bricklayers started out at the same place in their “cathedral-building” journey: laying bricks. Yet their perspectives of their journeys clearly varied in purpose and inspiration.

The first bricklayer could not see past the monotony of laying one brick after another. His lack of vision for the completion of the magnificent project shaped his narrow perspective. He just laid brick after brick. He didn’t choose to see the hope each brick represented. He just saw piles of clay.

The second bricklayer was able to see past his tedious actions, realizing this job at least provided for his needs. He did not, however, gain inspiration from the past grandeur of the original cathedral or the potential future impact of the cathedral he was building.

The third bricklayer was more than just a bricklayer; he was a master craftsman who understood the power of a hope-filled perspective. He knew each brick served as a tiny, but important, “hope-marker” for generations of people — those who gathered in the past and those who would gather in the future at the new cathedral to worship God.

We all have the same choice as the brick layers: we can be inspired by the past and use our stories as hope-markers, or we can live a life of monotony without purpose or inspiration. However, if we choose to embrace these hope-filled perspectives, we will find our God-inspired purposes, just like the third brick layer.

Hope-filled stories are often filled with influential people and events that shape our identities. They help us find our purposes in Christ, and as a result, we are naturally inspired to help others find their purposes as well. I saw this dynamic play out in my own life.

Growing up, my household was characterized by performance- based living. A positive self-worth was temporary, lasting only as long as I succeeded in my current endeavor. My self-worth was wrapped up in athletics. If I won, I felt I would be accepted and receive approval. If I lost, worthlessness reigned in my heart as criticism snarled and took chunks of life out of me. This same perception of my self-worth permeated in other areas of my life as well. I felt exhausted as I tried to gain approval through my performance, never believing I was enough.

As an average student that loved sports, I often found myself rushing through schoolwork just to get to the basketball court or track. Athletics afforded me praise and acceptance. Algebra did not. Despite this, my Algebra teacher recognized my desire to pass his class. He saw me as an individual who needed some extra help and not as a nameless face struggling to keep up with the next equation or formula amidst a class of twenty-five students. He demonstrated my value by spending extra time patiently encouraging me as I fumbled through the course. Ultimately, I passed the class to maintain my athletic eligibility, and he celebrated right alongside me.

Likewise, my track coach instilled the same sense of value in me. He cared about me as a person, regardless of my athletic ability. My success in athletics came naturally, and although the accolades and awards felt good, it was the genuine concern and encouragement from him that meant the most. Deep down inside, we all want to know we matter for who we are and not for what we do. I was no exception.

Unknowingly, both of these high-school mentors laid the groundwork for my life in Christ.

I accepted Christ as my Savior during my freshman year of college. Because of my experiences with my high school algebra teacher and track coach, I could understand the idea of God’s unconditional love for me. I recognized this familiar feeling of genuine care and concern from my loving, Christian roommate. She led me to a heavenly Father who not only loves me extravagantly, but also desires the very best for me.

My teacher and coach from high school, as well as my roommate, served as powerful hope-markers in my story. They helped me to recalibrate my perspective from “just laying bricks” to “building a masterpiece for God.”

Years later, this part of my story would greatly impact my role as a high school athletic director and basketball coach. I naturally came from the perspective that every student and athlete had value and a purpose unique to each of them. My hope-filled story from my high school years often found its way into conversations with coaches I mentored. By choosing to embrace and impact others with this hope-marker from my story, I passed on my inherited passion for helping students realize their value to coaches, student-athletes, teachers, and family members.

It’s important to note that the struggles and painful parts of our stories serve as powerful hope-markers as well. The constant message from home that my value was based on my performance is a prickly part of my story. But, it has allowed me to be more discerning of student athletes who may be struggling with similar situations. Instead of allowing the negative parts of my story to reduce my hope, I have chosen instead to use them as tools to compassionately serve others, rather than repeat the pain of the past.

My story proves that hope-filled perspectives depend on God’s unconditional love and ever-present guidance. God promises to unconditionally love us and navigate life with us. This promise emboldens us to embrace, share, and live out our stories through the lens of His grace and mercy.

Every part of our stories has the ability to touch generations, just as each brick served as a hope-marker for generations of cathedral goers. As educators, we have the unique opportunity to inspire students to find hope-markers in their stories. Embracing every part of our stories with a hope-filled perspective can propel us, and those around us, into a life full of passionate, God-ordained purposes with the potential to impact generations.