by Lane Trawick

Created on: February 24, 2011   Last Updated: March 14, 2011

Hope is the expectation of something; the belief that something we want, something we want to be, will be. It is the belief that what isn’t, will be. Hope is what gives a heart the strength to believe when everything else says not to. It is what gives the body strength to do what discouragement says it can’t. It is what gives the mind the power to envision, to imagine possibility, when others say it can’t be done. Hope is what propels us towards tomorrow. Without it, there is nothing to compel us; nothing to give us reason to try; and then, try, again should we not, at first, succeed. Hope is what fuels the human spirit.

While what people may hope for can differ greatly, the characteristic of hope within them does not. It’s the expectation, the faith, that what one does not see, will be seen. It is the belief that the emptiness felt by the absence of something will be replaced by the fulfilling presence of what will eventually be no longer missing. A child hopes for a certain toy for Christmas; an adult hopes for a promotion at work or the love of his/her life; a parent hopes for the safety and happiness of his/her child; a stranded ship at sea hopes for rescue. Hope is what makes a survivor out of soul in peril facing insurmountable odds.

You either have hope or you don’t. Many have had it, at one time, only to find themselves, later, without it.  Disappointments of life can weaken it; lessen its anticipation. The winds of tribulation can beat it down until it’s extinguished like a flickering candle in the breeze. Hope that goes unsatisfied for too long can have a debilitating affect. Hope that is unrealized for too long can make a person sick inside. Hope aged and wearied by un-fulfillment can break down the very immunities that were once kept strong by its youthful force of expectation. It can be weakened; and, it can be lost. When all hope is lost, there is nothing left – nothing worth pursuing. Futility is the death-nail of hope. It is the shackle that binds the human spirit. Futility is the father of hopelessness. Nothing kills hope, kills the passion of life, faster than futility. Hopeless is a place where no one wants to be. It is something no one plans to become. Hopeless is the absence of expectation. Hopelessness is the empty fuel tank of the human spirit. But, just as hope is something that can be depleted, and even lost, it is also something that can be rejuvenated, and even, regained.

Hope’s home is the heart. It’s born, lives, and grows within the heart of mankind. Its existence, like the wind, is invisible. But, like the wind, also, its effects are not invisible. Hope’s presence can be detected by the strength it gives to the human spirit. Nowhere is hope more visible than on the face of one who, while faced with overwhelming odds, refuses to accept defeat. Nothing inspires hope within a human spirit more than the courageous hope of another.  Hope begets hope. Hope gives birth to more hope. Hope unafraid, unashamed, and unrelenting inspires and encourages more of the same. Hope is what warms the heart while it waits for love. It’s what sustains the heart while it waits for rescue; while it waits for opportunity. Regardless of creed, color, or gender, hope is the same in all of us. Regardless of what one hopes for, the characteristic of hope is the same. It is the fuel of the human spirit – the fuel towards what lies ahead – what is believed to be ahead. Hope is the expectation of something yet to come – something good; something better; something worth hoping for.

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