Firm Steps Forward

She spoke her mind boldly, calling out injustices and seeking new solutions where old patterns no longer served. She lived life fully, stepping into diplomatic roles that women had not previously held and raising three daughters mostly on her own. She immigrated to the United States at age 11 and became a naturalized citizen at age 20; she spoke English, Russian, Czech, French, Polish, German, and Serbo-Croatian; and she once reported that she could leg press 400 pounds.

As the first woman appointed to the position of U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright was a force of determination and resilience. And when she died earlier today of cancer at age 84, the world lost a voice of strength and good humor.

I was honored to attend a Zoom discussion titled "Challenges to Democracy" featuring Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice this past October, and Albright's fierce spirit was clearly apparent as she quipped with Rice and pondered questions thoughtfully. Born in Czechoslovakia, Albright and her family moved to England in 1939 and then to New York in 1948. When Albright's father secured a position as a professor at the University of Denver, the family moved to Denver, Colorado, where Albright lived through her teen years. Her father, Josef Korbel, was a professor of political science who soon became dean of the University of Denver's school of international relations. In 2008, the University of Denver renamed the program the "Josef Korbel School of International Studies" in his honor. Condoleezza Rice, who succeeded Albright as Secretary of State, was a student of Korbel's, and I was fortunate to be included in the fall discussion as a graduate of the University of Denver.

Politics aside, both Albright and Rice carved new paths for women that have had a remarkable impact on those who follow. Both are/were women of faith -- Albright with a grounding in Judaism that she did not know about until a 1997 story by The Washington Post -- and both have stepped fully into the often challenging path that God has laid before them.

Consider Psalm 37:23-24:

The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

How bold are we about stepping into the new, the uncharted, the untraversed? How will you live differently this week, making choices that align with God's call on your life rather than the comforts of what is familiar?

Blessings on your week,

Jennie