Hope.

Lately, I've been kind of disheartened... The state of society, relationship stuff, and just in general (usually involving me being impatient) with my discernment process.

And I didn't really expect to find inspiration in a candy wrapper, but some of those Dove messages really have some cool stuff. The other day, as I was indulging in some excellent dark chocolate, I opened up my wrapper to see: "Here's to something more powerful than chocolate. Hope." -Leah from New York, New York.

Well, yeah, hope is more powerful than chocolate. It brings people together, it helps us in our daily struggles against evil and temptations... But it really got me thinking, since I gather the message was supposed to be ironic. Or sarcastic. Or whatever the proper term is, but, anyway, that hope really is a powerful thing.

And power can be dangerous. Think Hitler. Hope can be devastating, especially when we put our trust in the wrong place, and things don't go the way we wanted them to. The crash back to reality can bring a person to their knees.

But, of course, that's the perfect position to begin praying. And believe me, I've experienced that quite a bit recently.

Emily Dickinson said:

"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."

Hope is supposed to be a sweet, beautiful, and potent "thing" to help us get through life's storms, or to help us reach higher than we ever thought we could. But what if we weren't supposed to reach for a particular thing? What if we are meant to fail in some things?

If I watch a movie, see a handsome actor, and aspire to meet and marry him, I would be placing my hope in the wrong place, unless, of course, I were also famous and had the accessibility to meet the said actor.

This is an extreme example, of course, but often I forget that the things I hope for should be realistic and--ding, ding, ding--help me strive for holiness in the first place. Sometimes I forget about this. I see a great guy, who is faithful and kind, and I tell myself I just want to get to know him. Be a good friend, and keep my focus on Jesus. But at the same time, I allow myself to start thinking beyond such things, and pretty soon, I hunger for his attention instead of trying to wait for the Lord's plan for my life.

My discernment process begins to be tainted by my desires, and I forget that I must first grow in holiness, learn to be satisfied by God's love alone, before I can think about learning God's plan for my life.

Hope can be so beautiful. And so deadly.

I know this passage is used a lot, but recently, I've tried to meditate on it to get a clearer focus on how trusting in God will help me put my hope in the right thing--in Him.

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call to me, when you go to pray to me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot[...]"
-Jeremiah 29:11-14

Basically, hope is all about trust, too. Funny how that is. It all comes back to surrendering.

Lord, Thy Will Be Done.

Help me to will it.