Hope is a Beautiful Thing

Thanks to Dave Roller for hosting our Spiritual Journey this month.  Find his post and links to other Spiritual Journey posts HERE.  

In a spurt of energy, with the beauty and renewal of spring as my prompt, I stepped into a number of activities that have required a lot of energy. I borrowed an historical exhibit for our town that ended up being way bigger than I realized. I added a little to my garden. I joined a weekly prayer group. Tomorrow a big landscaping job will begin in our front yard. And I agreed to plan and lead the craft sessions at our Vacation Bible School. 

What on earth was I thinking? I could write of optimism, but I think there's a better word: Hope. I hoped I could do these things.  Age and stage make a mark, but hope keeps me going, and hope is a beautiful thing.

My garden whispers hope every day...

In choir we sing: My hope is in the Lord, who gave himself for me...

And then I came upon this poem by Lisel Mueller:

Hope

It hovers in dark corners

before the lights are turned on,

it shakes sleep from its eyes

and drops from mushroom gills,

it explodes in the starry heads

of dandelions turned sages,

it sticks to the wings of green angels

that sail from the tops of maples.

***

It is the singular gift

we cannot destroy in ourselves,

the argument that refutes death,

the genius that invents the future,

all we know of God.

Read the entire poem and enjoy Tom Petty's beautiful music HERE.

During Covid, someone left this gift on my doorstep...

Romans 5:5

  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

I am thankful for the hope and the energy that has stood me in good stead.  Hope is a thing of beauty. I hope you find its beauty also.