On Hope

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 Dear Kate, 

Some days are all sunshine and blue skies, with chirping birds and gentle breezes, and even a surprise trip down to the beach complete with a blazing sunset and the calming sound of the ocean waves. Other days are cloudy and blah, damp, and cold, and sometimes those days turn into weeks and the clouds into storms, and all you really want is to see the sun again, and you start to wonder if it's still even there. Such is life. There are summer seasons where everything is going so right, and you wonder if life on earth can possibly get any better than this. Happiness abounds, and blessings flow like honey, and life has never tasted sweeter. There are also seasons that feel like winter - long and harrowing and grueling, and all we really want is a moment of rest and a glimpse of the sun, but neither seem to be anywhere in sight. 

But even in the hard times, even on the days when you feel like you just can't bear anymore and the news goes from bad to worse, when you really just want to run away from it all... or at least curl up into a ball and hibernate for awhile, when the trial is long and your energy is short and you want to laugh but your optimism is running dry - even on those days, we still have a choice - we always have a choice about our attitude.  Now, we can choose to cry, and that is not a bad thing - often, it is a necessary thing, a cleansing and therapeutic thing, as your mama knows well - but we must choose to move on from that place.  As Christians, the most important choice we can make is to hope. 

So, what is hope? Defined Biblically, hope means "a strong and confident expectation." One of my favorite definitions for hope, which I came across years ago in my college days is by Max Lucado:  "It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks."  I liked it a lot, so I wrote it down to remember for later, and my exexperience has proven time and time again that it is true.

The Bible tells us lots of things about hope, but I think one of the most important is that is active, not passive. It is an action we must choose despite our feelings and emotions. Our feelings are strong and very real. Just like your mama, you are tender-hearted and feel things deeply. Even as young as you are, I have seen you many times show compassion and genuine concern for others. You immediately know if something is wrong with your daddy or I, or with anyone close to you, and you ask us, "What's the matter?" directly followed by a hug or shared snack or a tangible action that is somehow always exactly right. In our hardened world today, where lack of emotion is often viewed as a symbol of strength, your tenderness is beautiful, and you will use this gift to minister to many people. But unfortunately, your sensitivity will also cause you to feel and even absorb some of the pain felt by others, and sometimes your load may feel heavy, like more than you can bear. 

Thankfully we serve a Savior who knows just how we feel and where we've been.  Not long before he went to the cross, Jesus gave his disciples this most beautiful promise, one we can cling to in those hard, seemingly hopeless times:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

Notice that He doesn't say we "might" have trouble - it isn't optional. Trouble. Inevitable. A lot to look forward to, right? But the next part is so very powerful. I love those two words - Take heart. Or, another way of phrasing it might be: "Despite how crummy things are right now, you've got to trust Me. Why, you may ask? Because I've overcome this world - as in conquered victoriously." Whoa. Now doesn't that just change everything?! It changes the focus of our perspective from our circumstances and our strength to His power and infinite wisdom.

It means that, even in the harshest winters of life, through faith, we can choose to live in hope. We can choose hope by choosing gratitude - by looking for the blessings in the midst of the misery, and believe me, they are always there if we just open our eyes to look, to search them out. We can choose hope by choosing joy - by choosing a smile over a frown, even through the tears, because we know from God's promises that the outcome is worth rejoicing over, and we are claiming it in advance. And most importantly, we can share our hope by choosing love - by putting others' needs ahead of our own and pointing them to the Source of our hope when their own well has run dry.

So, whatever you're going through in this particular season of life, my dear Kate, take heart. Remember that hope - confident expectation - is the best choice, the only choice for we who have been redeemed, because our Overcomer is always fighting for us to a sure victory.

Love,
Mama 

(This is a series where I write about things I want Kate to know when she grows up. I got the idea from another blogger who writes "Dear Abby" letters to her daughter.)