Three Rivers of Hope Chose Me
How did I come up with Three Rivers of Hope? Excellent question. It chose me. As a little girl while going through the Catholic church confirmation process, my class was instructed to pick a confirmation name. I can remember sitting in my dad’s office and browsing through the list of names given. Once I came across Hope, I knew it was meant for me. I remember my mom walked in, and with excitement, I declared, “My confirmation name is going to be Hope!” She looked at me and frowned, “Why not Kathryn?” (this is her first name). Persistently, I said, “No, mom. I am picking Hope!” Ever since that day, hope has followed me throughout my life. I like to think it is a part of my soul.
Fast forward about ten years, to a period in my life I like to call transformational. Throughout my life, I was an active athlete, particularly in softball. Many weeknights and weekends were filled with practices, team bonding events, games, and tournaments. This is all I knew, and then, suddenly, my body began to change. I was in and out of the bathroom a lot more and did not understand why. Then, it got worse. I could not eat anything without having severe stomach pain afterwards, I could not sleep on my sides because the pain was horrible, and I could barely go anywhere without having to go to the bathroom.
Finally, I got an answer from Dr. Alka Goyal at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. I was hesitant to explain my symptoms because who wants to talk about poop. I put my feelings aside and shared my symptoms with her. Dr. Goyal, with her big beautiful brown eyes looked and calmly said, “You either have Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease.” My world stopped and shattered into tiny pieces. I am only seventeen! No, this is not happening to me! In January 2011, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC).
Do not get me wrong, 2011 was a dark year for me, I spent ten days in Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and walked out a warrior hungry for adventure.
Fast forward another nine years to 2020. The world was so quiet you could hear a needle drop. Life has drastically changed. I have learned to embrace my UC and thrive in life, but something was still missing: purpose. This led me on an incredible journey. I began asking friends, family, and coworkers where they envisioned me.
Ultimately, I ended up having the most incredible conversation with a gentleman I work with who happens to be a certified life coach himself. Our conversation was so motivating because for the first time in 5 years, someone took the time to ask me where I envisioned myself. For that, I am forever grateful. I enrolled in a life coaching course and the gates opened; I realized I am here to serve others by helping them overcome obstacles they are struggling with.
Now, it is mid-January 2021, I am officially a Certified Life Coach through Life Purpose Institute and celebrating a huge ten-year milestone with Ulcerative Colitis! Additionally, I am about to embark on an entrepreneurship journey to launch an online coaching business! Woo! Well, what is the name one may ask? Silence. Crickets. I had no ideas.
I knew it would come to me at the right divine moment, and boy did it ever. I knew Hope needed to be in the title. I bounced some ideas off a dear friend, and she did not have the light in her eyes that I was hoping for. I left our conversation disappointed but had hope that the name would hit me at the right moment. That same week, when I was leaving the office that afternoon, I drove past The Rivers Casino, and happened to turn my head and see the “Rivers” logo. “Rivers!” I said aloud in my car as if hundreds of people could hear me. “Three Rivers of Hope! That is, it!” I quick wrote it down at a stop light and drove home as quickly and safely as possible. Once I got home, I typed the domain into GoDaddy to see if it was available, and it was. Ah, the universe has a way of letting you know when something is truly meant to be yours.
Let me be the one to take your hand to help you rise. I will be that guiding light for you to help overcome that never ending uphill battle.
