“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
It was almost two years ago. On a cold, blustery November day in Central Ohio, I walked a vacant lot with some clients. I think it even snowed a little.
“This would be the back deck,” my client said, pointing toward the Scioto River. “And over here we could have the extended garage.”
“Down there,” he continued, pointing toward the riverbank some 30 feet below where we were standing, “is where we could build a small deck for the grandkids to fish from…and maybe they would camp out in a tent during the summer.”
At the time, it was nothing more than a steep, sloping lot with a massive limestone wall cutting through the middle of it.
I’m just a kid who grew up in the suburbs of Central Ohio. Sure, my slogan is “Nobody Knows Homes Like a Carpenter,” but that doesn’t really mean I know how to build one.
The cool thing was, my clients could already see the house.
They saw the home office on the top floor. They pictured the sprawling kitchen opening into a two-story great room with a wall of windows. They envisioned family gatherings in the walkout lower level, evenings around the fire pit, and a beer or bourbon shared while enjoying the golf simulator.
“If you build it, they will come.”
This weekend, I walked through a house that’s less than six months away from becoming that vision. Maybe an even better version than the one they first imagined.
It’s no longer a drawing on paper. It’s a full-blown HDMI version of a dream taking shape in brick, stone, wood, and glass.
As we stood on what will soon be the driveway and looked toward the steadily flowing river, a buck and a doe came leaping through the underbrush before stopping briefly, almost as if they knew we were there.
Standing there, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious…but mostly proud.
Proud of their vision.
Proud, too, that I’ve had the privilege of being part of their story for more than 20 years. I’ve helped them through multiple moves and even had the opportunity to help their children with their own real estate needs. Soon, I’ll help them once again as they begin another exciting chapter.
And once they settle into this beautiful new home, we’ll begin helping another family picture their future in the home they’ve enjoyed these past several years.
None of us can see the entire staircase.
We just have to be willing to take the first step.
Maybe your dream isn’t a new home overlooking a river.
Maybe it’s a healthier lifestyle.
A stronger business.
Better finances.
A repaired relationship.
Whatever you’ve been imagining…
What’s the first step?
Because every finished home begins as an empty lot.
Every dream begins with someone who can see what isn’t there yet.
And sometimes…
“Hey, look…it’s a deer!”
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