“There is always hope.” That’s a truth that I keep foremost in my mind at all times and in all situations. What do I mean by that? I suppose that if you looked, you would find some sanitized definition of “hope” that describes it in clinical terms. Miriam-Webster provides this as one definition: desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.1 Such a definition, though, doesn’t quite satisfy when I think of hope and its importance to my human condition. In her poem, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” Emily Dickinson compares hope to a bird sitting in her soul who sings a wordless song in all conditions without ending and without asking for so much as a crumb. I, myself, in “Hope Manifested,” relate that hope is my constant companion who whispers encouragement even “through the din.”
There is certainly more to hope than clinical definitions and psychological banter. Hope, in her essence, is alive and breathes life into my dreams and aspirations. She sees the silver lining in my dark cloud. She notices the rainbow before I realize that the storm has passed. She sees the beauty in my ugliness, the strength in my fear, and the nobility in my clumsiness. Hope is my lone star in a starless night, and the oasis in my desert. Hope is the unseen manifestation of my Faith; and, where hope lies, there lies my destiny.
Hope and faith are often used colloquially to express a desire or confidence for a particular outcome. “I HOPE that my team wins.” “I have FAITH in your ability, child, to pass the test.” When I think of hope and faith, though, they mean so much more. The most resilient hope is nurtured by faith deeply rooted in a person’s knowledge of and experience with their Origin2, or the Creation account that is accepted as their own. Our origin grounds us in our past, present, and future. It defines our purpose and destiny. For me, God is my origin. My faith is in Him, and my hope lies with His living Word, Christ Jesus. You, of course, are free to choose your own origin, whatever it may be. I encourage you to find it if you’ve not already.
A. E. Fonner
The most resilient hope is nurtured by faith deeply rooted in a person’s knowledge of and experience with their origin….
1 Miriam-Webster; available on 7/7/18 at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope
2 The idea of “Origin” as used here I discovered while reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethics. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945) was a Lutheran minister who used his position to resist Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime in Germany. He was hanged by the Nazi’s shortly before Germany’s surrender. Bonhoeffer used “origin” in his writing to refer to the Judeo/Christian God. To learn more, please refer to: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich (1995). Ethics. New York: Touchstone.
