Sometimes our world seems hopeless as we watch people getting shot at a country music concert, wading in waist-deep flood water with no home left to go to, or fleeing wildfires that seem impossible to stop. Our government, however you feel about it, is in constant turmoil. We face so many challenges close to home. A friend just had a stroke. My neighbor just told me about a husband and wife who were both diagnosed with cancer on the same day. One of my father’s caregivers crashed her car into his garage door. It all seems hopeless, right? Let’s just go back to bed and stay there. But no. We still have hope.
It shows every time my father does his leg exercises in the hopeful belief that he will soon be able to let go of his walker and tell his caregivers not to come back. I’m not sure it will happen, but he has hope. It’s what keeps him going.
I thought about this the other day as rain soaked the chaise lounge cushions on my deck. I ought to admit that summer is over and bring them in, but no, I had hope that we would have some more sunny days. And we do. I see blue sky out my window right now.
I started making a list of the things we do that show we have hope that whatever the situation is now, it’s going to be all right. The list got long. I’m sharing some of my favorites here, and I invite you to make your own list and share it in the comments.
1. Hope is continuing to water the African violet although the leaves are turning brown and you haven’t seen a flower in a year.
2. Hope is buying two chicken breasts in case company comes.
3. Hope is showing up at a dance alone.
4. Hope is leaving the door unlocked.
5. Hope is casting your line out again.
6. Hope is planting two-year-old seeds in a muddy yard.
7. Hope is pruning your artichoke plants down to sticks.
8. Hope is unhooking your dog’s leash.
9. Hope is buying a lottery ticket.
10. Hope is calling him (or her) one more time.
11. Hope is getting a mammogram.
12. Hope is stepping on the bathroom scale.
13. Hope is going to get the mail.
14. Hope is pouring your heart out and hitting “send.”
15. Hope is taking your turn at a four-way stop.
16. Hope is buying jeans that fit a little tight.
17. Hope is putting a roast in the electric oven during a storm when the lights are flickering.
18. Hope is making a dentist appointment for six months from now.
19. Hope is buying a Christmas gift in August for someone who is very old.
20. Hope is leaving your jacket at home.
21. Hope is saying “I do” again.
22. Hope is stepping into the plane.
23. Hope is not defrosting anything for dinner.
24. Hope is leaving your birth control in your purse.
25. Hope is getting out of bed anyway.
Okay. Your turn!
Unleashed in Oregon 