Day 8- Hope

 In starting this post immediately this poem by Emily Dickenson came to mind;

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

I'm not sure why but I love this idea of hope being a "thing with feathers that perches on the soul". There's something about that picture that I find so encouraging. 

Hope can be an incredibly hard thing to hold onto, especially when we go through and experience all the difficulties and pains of life. All that challenges our hope, especially when our hope is in things that are ever shifting. Hope feels elusive when our idea of hope is based on something elusive. That is not one of the clearest sentences I have ever written. What I mean is that if I base my hope in something elusive (people/relationships, job success, a changing circumstance) there is always the chance that I will be disappointed. That isn't to say that I shouldn't look forward to events, sometimes it can be incredibly helpful to have something that we are looking forward to. It IS to say that unless I base my hope in something solid and unchanging I will constantly feel that hope is escaping me. 

In the lead up to Christmas perhaps the answer to this conundrum is obvious to you. As we look forward in hope to the birth of our Saviour it might feel like He is the obvious answer to an elusive hope. However, during the rest of the year without the warmth and excitement of the season it might be a bit harder to remember the truth that Christ is the only true Hope we can depend on. 

Having our hope in the right things makes many circumstances easier to navigate, if there is something I hope in beyond circumstance. Which isn’t to say that we don’t acknowledge the difficulty (a serious diagnosis is still hard even if we have hope placed in somethings steady), it’s just that in that we can say, “I have an unwavering hope that God will work all things for my Good.” And this is a hope I can depend on, that no matter the situation God can take any of it and work it out for my Good. I love that, what an awesome redemption piece to every part of our stories. What a wonderful hope that in the hard, in the struggle, in the pain…He can use all those things for our GOOD (I think it’s worth saying that I do believe we have to work with Him on this…and be willing to learn and grow from what He reveals to us). I think when we have this hope we can say, “God what are you going to teach me? What are you doing with this?” It helps shift that perspective to the positive, to the…well…hopeful. 

I meant to say a lot more about this topic. However, my sadly sleep deprived brain (which entirely forgot my youngest’s birthday when a doctor asked today) can only go so far. Hopefully (haha), there is something in this that encourages you and gives you something to ponder. Thanks for sticking with me through this as I’ve become an inconsistent poster very quickly! Your grace is appreciated!