Tag Archives: hope

With everything that the world has been through over the last year and a half, it’s a relief to again see some semblance of normal …

Often life can be a non-stop hamster wheel of things to do. Taking the kids to school or extracurricular clubs, work, errands, and the list …

This time of year is crazy, when we brag about all the things we are grateful for and then rush around, gathering up stuff that people may be grateful for. It is silly if you think about it. My friend is so stressed about what she got each person. All I hear is frustration and hesitation, hoping these people will be happy with her choices. Now several of these people will, of course, be overjoyed by the sentiment of the gift. But there are a few who won't be thankful. She knows it, because it is the same way every year.

This is going to be a short note tonight but it is from the heart. It Is almost Thanksgiving and time for each of us to spend some time in gratitude – for all of our blessings, yes, because we have them even when we forget them. I ask ya’ll also though, to give thanks for the lessons, the heartaches, the pain and frustration as well because each effort to us, of us, for us and because of us is a thumbprint in the universe, unique to us and those in our lives and who cross our paths. Every moment we spend, alone or together has meaning and consequence.

Have things in your life been a struggle? Maybe things have just been constrictive or you feel stuck. Maybe you are frustrated with a situation you just cannot seem to get past. Lately I have had butterflies on my mind. No, not the nervous butterflies in the tummy but the beautiful, flighty, colorful creatures that take to the sky and land on the wild flowers. They do not stay in one place long, but before those beautiful moments of flight, it was a caterpillar snug tight in it's cocoon. That is where it goes through metamorphosis. Changes. There are stages to it's growth. And then, when the time is right, the cocoon tears away to reveal the colorful wings that take flight.

I am curious, when you got married, what did you think? Were you prepared for the road ahead? Did you talk about major life decisions? Did you both know and agree on the big things like children, money and goals? Were you even thinking about it, or did you think that once you said "I do", you would just live happily ever after?

There is record of the word hope in English, though in varying form, dating back to before the twelfth century and even earlier in Hebrew. I have a good feeling that even before there was a word, there was an action- a longing, an expectation, an anticipation. It's like the human equivalent of an animal's instinct- a built in feature. Not to say that animals don't hope and humans don't have instinct. It could be that both of these things are interchangeable and innate with all life. We need hope to live, thrive, and find our purpose. That is why I am thankful to