These screenshots might be a little murky on copyright but I'll put the attributing link right here for ya. https://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/06/hope-the-misunderstood-sister?lang=eng
I loved this essay on hope when I read it in the Ensign several years ago. The essay, its accompanying poem by the same author, and the lovely painting by Brian Kershisnik have never been far from my mind.
I've always been interested in the middle ground between cynicism and naïveté--something I feel I've struggled to pin down depending on the company I'm with--and I think that middle ground is hope. In his exploration of the concept, the author personifies "Hope" as one of three metaphorical sisters--Faith, Hope, and Charity--and has this lovely thought about hope/"Hope":
"Hope is anything but wishful. It is expectation based on experience.... [Hope] is serene. Her eyes have the deep, knowing look of someone well acquainted with sorrow, the luminosity of recently being wet with tears. Hope has the confidence of one who clearly sees a bright future even when the next hours seem fog shrouded. Hope is steady and strong, a friend I am glad to have beside me during my own trials."
Yes, I'm very thankful for hope.
This really moved me. Thanks for sharing and for keeping the blog train a'chugging.
ReplyDeleteI love this definition also. Apropos after the weekend spent saying to goodbye to a young niece who was taken too soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Eliza! That's exactly what I needed to hear, "The fog shrouded for the next few hours" bit. I'm constantly wavering between "Have hope" and "Life's a bitch!" Because, well, sometimes it feels like it is. :) But the spirit always tells me not to think the latter. Oh, and thanks for your email. I'm a total dud right now and apparently responding to very kind, helpful emails is too much for me. My house is completely crazy, my kids do psychotic things which I need to detail on the blog, and I'll be sterilized soon. And about your visiting teaching post, my house is always a disaster and I don't have a baby. I spent two hours cleaning yesterday, and it is still crazy. I know some people judge me for it but I appreciate friends who don't notice or mind or just expect that that's how it goes because I like doing other things with my time. AND, I told my VTers what I was dealing with this past summer and why I wasn't good at emailing or texting back and one of them complained to the relief society president (my bff) about how she admonished me to email her back and that is my job as a member of the church etc. I was like, you people suck. And my friend transferred me. So, some VTers are great, and some are bad. But overall the program is so inspired! (duh)
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