Have you ever wondered why in the worst moments of human history; you often find the greatest amount of hope? We hear stories of great suffering of all kinds, be it amidst war, natural disasters or other kinds of personal despair and agony. The situations seem totally hopeless, the future seems unpredictable.
Australia has appropriately been called The Land of Fire and Flood. During the most despairing times we see an extraordinary outpouring of ordinary people reaching out to take care of each other. But in that, we witness an incredible sense of joy and connection that was missing in everyday life.
Over the past few years, I have had my own fair share (or more) of health issues, from spinal and brain tumours to heart and breathing problems. One medical appointment followed by another, exhaustion my ever-present companion, one day bleeding into the next, without much predictability.
I admit to having times when all rational thought has fled out the window, when I have lost perspective, when anxiety has been great within me, and I have needed help to be rescued from my own self-destructive thoughts.
But through it all I have also realised that I have learned some important life lessons, that maybe I would not have otherwise discovered. I have developed a deeper empathy towards others. I have learned to look for meaning. Instead of deliverance being the focus of my prayers, I have learned to pray for understanding, strength, stamina, and endurance. I have learned to look for peace in the midst of chaos. But most importantly, more than ever before, my trials have helped me to learn to trust in God.
There is hope even when we are surrounded by hopelessness. Love can be found in the midst of war. There is calm even in the middle of a storm.
Hope is like the beam of sunlight rising above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with its light. Rollo May has been quoted to say: “Courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair”. Having hope gives us courage.
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Apples of Gold 
Sometimes it seems like hope is all we can hold on to through the storms of life while leaning on God knowing he will see us through.
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This is true Dana!
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So true !
It reminds me if Emily Dickinson’s poem,
‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land-
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
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We all are in need of hope!!
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