“Delayed hope makes the heart ill, but fulfilled longing is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 13:12
In 2019, I hoped. I hoped despite what things looked like. I hoped despite the opinions of others. I hoped beyond reason; I hoped beyond hope. And I didn’t quite see my hopes fulfilled. Not yet, at least.
Is hope futile?
Is it pointless for a mother to pray for her son who has surrendered to a life of crime? Is it pointless for a wife to hope for the salvation of her marriage? Is it pointless to rally others to hope and pray with you for the resurrection of a 2-year old who passed away out of nowhere?
One may be tempted to surrender to a life without hope. It’s safer to not dream, not have goals, to live without hope. It seems like a luxurious life, free of disappointment. Safe.. reasonable… However, it’s similar to hiding in a dark corner of a house, safe and tucked away, right? But there’s a slow-burning fire of despair creeping its way over. The dark smoke will cloud your vision and consume you if you stay in the same spot, no longer so safe nor hidden. A life with no hope will allow life to live you instead, to happen to you without permission, to pass you by, the realist, cynic onlooker.
Instead, you can allow the fire to be that spark that ignites you to stand up, get out, and chase the daylight of life!
So this I learned. Despite any disappointment, allowing my heart to hope was not futile, but it made it more beautiful. There were very many lessons learned that I will carry through life. I am definitely much stronger and have learned how to do things a better way in the future, in the most excellent of ways, in fact.
Disappointment can be a great teacher, but hope above it all teaches best.
Holy. Sacred. Pure. 