Helpless About Hope?

Hope has meant different things to me at different times. I used to view hope as a flittering bird-like thing and I could only wish it came close enough for me to catch. Over the years, I changed my thoughts about hope. I’m thinking my attitude determines whether or not I have hope.

As a teen — hope meant not wishfully marrying the first boy I ‘fell in love’ with, but instead trying to find a man I could marry where my dream of a good marriage had potential.

As a frazzled mom of three preschool boys dreaming of an empty nest — hope meant making the most of that time (sometimes that meant a nap for me) instead of wishfully dreaming of the future. It meant allowing them to ‘help’ me clean and cook (even if flour ended up everywhere) so they would grow up to be men who do that.

As a struggling business owner, with never enough time or money — hope meant finding a balance of work and play, so I and the business, would live to see another day.

Waking up in a hospital 3,000 miles from home and finding out I almost died and that some aspects of my recovery were unknown – hope meant taking a deep breath (but not too deep or it hurt my broken rib and punctured lung) and focusing on what I could do to help myself heal, instead of stressing myself by worrying about the future.

A year later, when my body had recovered better than expected, but my mind and spirit were overwhelmed with the life-long effects of the trauma — hope meant taking more deep breaths, seeking help from others and giving myself time, space and permission to be renewed by the love of God. My body wasn’t the only thing that needed to heal.

Identifying what hope has looked like over the years, has made me realize I don’t need to feel hopeless now — about my dream of being a speaker and published author. Hope means taking deep breaths (oxygen is always good) and not stressing about the future, while doing what’s within my ability each day — studying, writing, learning, sharing, etc.

What has and/or does hope mean to you?

This is part of a Blog Carnival hosted by Bridget Chumbley. Visit her site for more posts about hope.

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