Hope

I have been thinking a lot lately about just how important hope is. Hope will make you hang on when every other indicator says to give up.

On a grand scale, hope is what helps many alive and struggling in Zimbabwe cope with their lives. On a smaller scale (although no less important), hope keeps the Mom of a sick little boy plugging away. Hope is God given - there is no too ways about it.

Recently, a friend of mine was describing an interacting she had with a health professional who wouldn't give her any positives about her son's development. The professional claimed that she didn't want the Mom to hang on to false hope and be disappointed. WOW - this blew my mind! What stunningly bad logic.

Hope is not about being disappointed if and when life fails you. Hope is about being able to hang on and continue WHEN life disappoints and fails you. To tell a parent not to have hope is basically telling them to stop trying. Thankfully, my plucky and very sensible friend put this advise exactly where it belonged.

I think of my family in Zimbabwe, hanging on to hope, because frankly that is all they have to hang on to. Mugabe can kill people, he can kill an economy, he can devastate land and destroy enterprise - but he cannot take away their hope.

We never have any idea what the future will hold for us. There will likely be joy and there will more than likely be sorrow. We gain nothing by losing hope, no matter what our current circumstances. Hope can be the comfort and catalyst that helps us rise from our current situation.

I hope my thoughts don't offend you, they are after all just my thoughts.