Some days seem to roll right into the next, don’t they?  It’s as though the everyday minutia we live with are all stuck in replay mode and the things we’d been hoping for from long ago, never seem to come to pass.

          It’s not that we give up hope, but that the thought slowly creeps into our minds, ‘if it happens it happens’.  What we’re really saying to ourselves is, ‘I’m tired of being let down and can’t keep expecting something to happen.  If it does, great.  If not, at least this way, I won’t be disappointed’.

          That middle ground between great expectation and giving up is where most of us live when it comes to things we’ve been hoping for over a long period of time.  I know, because I’m right there. 

          The ironic thing about hope is that, nearly all the great things I’ve experienced in life, have come to me without any expectation or ‘hoping’ beforehand.  Or, maybe I didn’t perceive hopefulness as a thing to be focused on and have had it all along.  For whatever reason, I’m not sure why that is, but I’m glad it is. 

          I’m reminded of Christmas morning.  It’s one of those times, as children, we spend hours hoping that special present from Santa will be there when we get up.  I would spend every day looking at the JCPenney catalog hoping to get a super hero toy, race track, or game.  Santa (Mom), always seemed to know what I was hoping for (probably because she had me circle what I wanted in the catalog…).

          If someone were to ask me today, ‘what is hope?’  I couldn’t give a clear answer because each of us manages our expectations and ‘hopes’ differently.  In a nutshell, you could say it’s the expectation, or desire, of something to come.  

          For me, my biggest hope is one tied to loved ones I’ve been separated from, to be restored and those relationships renewed.  It’s something I’ve hoped for a long time and is something I believe I must trust a higher power to bring about.  Before he passed, the last thing my Grandfather wanted me to hear was, ‘tell Brad, everything’s going to be all right’ which brings hope to me to this day.

          So, how do we get and keep hope?  Is it something that just happens in our hearts and minds like some people who seem to always ‘hope for the best’, or, is it something we need to find?  If it is something we need to find, where do we go to find it? 

          My belief is that hope finds us.  It finds us when we pray.  It finds us when we see others who have miracles happen in their lives.  It finds us when we are at the darkest moments and hear that still, small voice saying, ‘trust Me’.   If we look for hope, it will be illusive.  But, if we let go and put our trust in a power higher than our own, it will come to us.

          Hope won’t change future events, but, it will change our heart, mind, and soul’s attitude to life and others around us.  It takes a negative and turns it to a positive.  It sees goodness where there isn’t any.  It brings light to the darkest fears and joy to the saddest of hearts.  Most importantly, it brings along it’s partner, peace. 

          A good friend once jokingly used to say, ‘I have a new motto… Life sucks then you die’.   I would just laugh and shake my head when he said that, but it made me think there may be people who really do think like that.  People who only see life as a series of rotten things that happen and, in the end, is just death.  Talk about hopelessness!!  Man, I don’t ever want to get to that point. 

So, today, here’s to looking ahead with expectations of good things.  Looking to the future, not with a so-so attitude of say la vie (such is life), but of hope for good things.  My prayer today is for hope to find you wherever you may be in life.  For hope to flood your heart with peace and a new sense of expectation that everything’s going to be all right...

Amen and goodnight my friends,

Brad