~ Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
We say it a lot. "I hope..." has been at the beginning of many sentences for me throughout the years. But I'm not sure I really understood what "Hope" meant. I can look it up in the dictionary and get the definition. But that isn't what I'm talking about. Hope can be many different things to many different people. Some use the term loosely while others take much caution.
When we are young, it normally takes the form of a wish. A deep desire to "have" something. For a child, it might be a special toy. To the teenager, the affections of a secret crush. As we get older though and we have experienced life, many of us come to realize that even though we have our own free will, that God has a plan for each and every one of us. If it is His will, then it shall be done. No matter how much we hope for a different outcome. But being an adult, we also begin to rely more on our faith, than on our hope. We have faith that God will provide and take care of us because we know he will, we don't have to wish for it.
But hope isn't just a wish and it isn't just faith. It is a combination of both. It is something that drives us to continue to have faith to continue the fight to make that wish a reality.
~When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."~
This lead me to examine what it is that gives me hope? That list could be endless. When my babies smile at me, it gives me hope that someday they will know how much I love them. On days when I feel inadequate, like I could be so much better than I am, hope tells me that tomorrow will be better, if I fight hard enough for it. Hope is the contented sigh of Little C, as she snuggles deeper into my neck at 4am after I've finished feeding her. It tells me that she feels safe with me, she trusts me and that she loves me. Sometimes, it is the wet, sloppy kisses from Big C, when I don't even ask for them.
My hope is that I overcome postpartum depression. My wish is that my children never feel its effects. I have faith in God that it won't.
What is it for you?
