“The thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices.”
This lyric comes from a well-known Christmas carol “O Holy Night”. The line in the song stood out to me recently at a Christmas church service. I’m intrigued by the idea of how “thrilling” the concept of HOPE is.
Hope is usually something that we need more than we realize. Without hope, life is desperate, depressing, and we feel alone. Like the song says, we feel “weary.” I don’t know what makes you weary. Life itself can be weary. We get busy. We lose sleep. We struggle to pay bills. Our families suffer. Troubled relationships arise. We bend over backwards to please others... Life has a way of handing us: Headaches, hassles, hardships and hurdles!
But HOPE... that’s what we need in order to endure the trials and troubles that inevitably happen in life.
On a lighter note, hope is what allows Chicago Cubs fans, like myself, to continue rooting year after year for a team that has not won a World Series since 1908! That’s over 100 years of failure! But true-blue Cub fans hold out hope that one day soon (maybe this year) the Cubs will overcome their perennial futility and finally win a long-awaited Championship. So far, in my lifetime, every season ends in disappointment, but there’s always the off-season sentiment: “Wait ‘til next year!”
What makes following the Cubs worthwhile is when they’re winning. Hope begins to burn in a Cub fan’s heart when the team is within reach of the playoffs late in the season. It doesn’t happen often, but like the Christmas carol says, it is a “thrill” to be filled with that kind of hope. Each game is more and more exciting to watch. It’s during seasons of success that hope becomes thrilling to experience. In fact, it’s addictive.
The fact is, we all NEED hope in order to carry on. Without it, our failures will paralyze, our defeats will be crushing, and our disappointments will demoralize. So what disappointments do you face year after year? I’d encourage you to stoke the fire of HOPE in your life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And the darkness of your disappointment is usually only a temporary circumstance. When you’re weary and in need of strength, seek out the source of your hope! You’ll find it if you’re willing to keep moving forward. I hope to see you at the end of your tunnel, “for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” Until then...
I gotta grow!
J.T. Bean
Email: jamestbean@gmaill.com
No comments:
Post a Comment