Hi. In 1985, I was a junior in college when I
decided to go to a concert with a group of friends.
At the time, it seemed like just a fun thing
to do on a Friday night. My focus was simply
enjoying the evening, nothing special planned.
But during intermission, a friend introduced
me to a woman named Julie. Fast forward to today.
Julie and I have been married nearly 40 years.
We have four children and nine grandchildren.
Needless to say, that one Friday night grew into
something far bigger than I could have imagined.
And I have found mathematics has developed in
similar ways. Back in the 15th century during
the Renaissance, mathematicians were fascinated
with solving cubic equations. Those are algebra
problems involving an x to the power 3 term.
But while they were working on these equations,
they hit a wall. In the middle of the calculations,
they needed to take the square root of a negative
number. But something like the square root of
negative 3 did not seem possible. But still,
calculations required it. what mathematicians
do. They created a new idea. They defined a new
number called i, where i equals the square root
of negative one. At the time, this seemed like
a strange workaround to solve an algebra problem
and nothing more. In fact, people called them
imaginary numbers because they did not seem,
I don't know, real. But centuries later, mathematicians
realized these imaginary numbers could be visualized
geometrically on what we now call the complex
plane. An abstract algebraic idea suddenly gained
shape and motion. And even more surprising, this
strange invention became foundational for things
like electricity. sound waves, quantum physics,
engineering, and rotations. What began as a small
mathematical seed eventually branched into entirely
new dimensions of understanding. This is one
of the reasons I love mathematics. It is not
a static collection of disconnected facts. It
is alive, growing, branching. One discovery gives
rise to another. Old ideas produce entirely new
fruit. The deeper you explore math, the more
you realize you are not studying isolated branches.
You are exploring a living tree. And this living
tree picture extends to my life and my faith
as well. Life is filled with small seeds. A conversation
or a friendship. Maybe a decision or a loss.
And sometimes those small beginnings completely
reshape the trajectory of our lives. A friendship
becomes love. Love eventually encounters grief.
Small things unfold into dimensions we never
expected. Transformation rarely begins with dramatic
moments. More often, it begins through small
beginnings that slowly grow into something much
larger. And when I step back and look at the
larger picture, I see patterns of growth, patterns
of beauty, and even patterns of loss. What gives
me hope is believing those patterns are connected
to something larger than themselves, to a living
whole. Now, remaining in our current dimensions
may feel comfortable, but perhaps there is a
new dimension drawing you forward, a new relationship,
a new career, a transformed faith, or just a
deeper way of seeing life. Growth always carries
uncertainty, but maybe hope is trusting that
small steps taken today can eventually grow into
fruit we cannot yet imagine.