The Heart of the Matter
Much is said and written about hope. What is it, how do we get it, why do we lose it? By definition, hope is a feeling of expectation for a certain thing to happen. There is also a religious or spiritual meaning to hope that says "Instead of wishing or hoping for something to happen, a believer knows that their hope is solid, concrete evidence because it is grounded in the Word of God and we know that God". Another definition for hope is is an optimistic attitude of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.
As you can see HOPE encompasses so many human emotions. I hope I feel better tomorrow, I hope I get the job, I hope my cat comes home, I hope my house sells, I hope I have enough money for groceries, I hope for a miracle, and the list goes on and on. How do we extricate out what hope isn't and cling to what it is? The truth is far simpler than all the definitions. We hope for that which we cannot see. The question becomes what do we use to see with. Let the journey begin.
I am very close to people fighting cancer, so I see hope in it's rawest form. With that being said I also see it from a truly humanistic position too. Consider a friend of mine whom is on hospice. Prior to entering hospice she hoped for a cure, a miracle, anything that would eradicate the demon from her body. The cure never came, the miracle didn't happen, and the hope faded. What was once a bright light is now just a dull beam that seems so far away. Let's not forget that the human feelings of hope went somewhat parallel with the spiritual aspects of hope. As she prayed for a miraculous cure she had high hopes that her God would provide the relief she had asked for. When it became obvious that wasn't going to happen, her hope as well as her faith found new challenges.
The analogy of cancer may be extreme, closer to home it could be HOPING we do not lose a job, or HOPE we get to take that vacation, HOPE we can pay our bills, HOPE we can lose weight, HOPE our secrets are never revealed, etc. As you can see HOPE is everywhere in our lives. It is the essence of our being, it is who we are. Often we hear HOPE as it relates to our eternal home, the life after life, yet as human beings all we have is the here and now. We hope for certain outcomes today, not tomorrow. When we are told to use HOPE only in terms of faith or religion, we miss out on the humanness that God placed in us. Remember we are humans seeking a spiritual existence NOT spiritual beings seeking a human existence.
Here in lies the depth and wisdom of this blog. When we embrace the essence of our being we begin to see with our hearts and not our minds. When our hearts become the eyes the gateway to the soul opens up in amazing awe inspired ways. It is true that the eyes are useless when the mind is blind, yet much broader and deeper is this, our life is useless when our heart is blind to that which we have been given. When we begin to see with our hearts, our hope in life escalates far beyond that which the mind can perceive. God infused love into our heart with the HOPE that we would protect, water, and fertilize it so that it could spread to our mind, body, and soul.
You may think my friend with cancer lost all hope but that is far from the truth. She lost hope due to the fact she was using just her eyes to guide her life. When she realized that she could see so much farther with her heart, her HOPE for the future created a cascade of emotions that she otherwise had been blinded too. Consider your life for a moment. You were planted in fertile soil infused with love, it is up to you to bloom where you are planted. Weeds will creep in and attempt to choke the life right out of you. If you take your eyes off the heart of the matter and focus on the weed instead of your blossoming bud you will miss the opportunity that HOPE truly provides. You are God's greatest miracle and hope was placed in you, not so you could be hurt when miracles do not happen, but so that you may LIVE with the knowledge that dreams can and will come true. Hope is real, hope is alive, and you can see it and experience it when you let your heart become your guide. Just think, all this time you thought the eyes provided sight, now you know the rest of the story, which is, to see life as a truly beautiful mosaic filled with potential and possibilities beyond our wildest imagination, we have to see the colors of the world through the wonderful organ we call the heart.
God Bless
Dale
As you can see HOPE encompasses so many human emotions. I hope I feel better tomorrow, I hope I get the job, I hope my cat comes home, I hope my house sells, I hope I have enough money for groceries, I hope for a miracle, and the list goes on and on. How do we extricate out what hope isn't and cling to what it is? The truth is far simpler than all the definitions. We hope for that which we cannot see. The question becomes what do we use to see with. Let the journey begin.
I am very close to people fighting cancer, so I see hope in it's rawest form. With that being said I also see it from a truly humanistic position too. Consider a friend of mine whom is on hospice. Prior to entering hospice she hoped for a cure, a miracle, anything that would eradicate the demon from her body. The cure never came, the miracle didn't happen, and the hope faded. What was once a bright light is now just a dull beam that seems so far away. Let's not forget that the human feelings of hope went somewhat parallel with the spiritual aspects of hope. As she prayed for a miraculous cure she had high hopes that her God would provide the relief she had asked for. When it became obvious that wasn't going to happen, her hope as well as her faith found new challenges.
The analogy of cancer may be extreme, closer to home it could be HOPING we do not lose a job, or HOPE we get to take that vacation, HOPE we can pay our bills, HOPE we can lose weight, HOPE our secrets are never revealed, etc. As you can see HOPE is everywhere in our lives. It is the essence of our being, it is who we are. Often we hear HOPE as it relates to our eternal home, the life after life, yet as human beings all we have is the here and now. We hope for certain outcomes today, not tomorrow. When we are told to use HOPE only in terms of faith or religion, we miss out on the humanness that God placed in us. Remember we are humans seeking a spiritual existence NOT spiritual beings seeking a human existence.
Here in lies the depth and wisdom of this blog. When we embrace the essence of our being we begin to see with our hearts and not our minds. When our hearts become the eyes the gateway to the soul opens up in amazing awe inspired ways. It is true that the eyes are useless when the mind is blind, yet much broader and deeper is this, our life is useless when our heart is blind to that which we have been given. When we begin to see with our hearts, our hope in life escalates far beyond that which the mind can perceive. God infused love into our heart with the HOPE that we would protect, water, and fertilize it so that it could spread to our mind, body, and soul.
You may think my friend with cancer lost all hope but that is far from the truth. She lost hope due to the fact she was using just her eyes to guide her life. When she realized that she could see so much farther with her heart, her HOPE for the future created a cascade of emotions that she otherwise had been blinded too. Consider your life for a moment. You were planted in fertile soil infused with love, it is up to you to bloom where you are planted. Weeds will creep in and attempt to choke the life right out of you. If you take your eyes off the heart of the matter and focus on the weed instead of your blossoming bud you will miss the opportunity that HOPE truly provides. You are God's greatest miracle and hope was placed in you, not so you could be hurt when miracles do not happen, but so that you may LIVE with the knowledge that dreams can and will come true. Hope is real, hope is alive, and you can see it and experience it when you let your heart become your guide. Just think, all this time you thought the eyes provided sight, now you know the rest of the story, which is, to see life as a truly beautiful mosaic filled with potential and possibilities beyond our wildest imagination, we have to see the colors of the world through the wonderful organ we call the heart.
God Bless
Dale
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