Rise Up in Hope

Hope keeps us going forward. No matter what obstacles we face, no matter how dark our path becomes. We lift up our eyes to the rising of the sun knowing that we will rise up in hope for another day. We lift up our hearts to receive God’s never ending love. We lift up our voices to tell our own stories, with assurance that we have lived a story of wonder, a life well lived.

That’s the important thing about stories, no one can take them from us. They are ours to tell, and surely, our narrative of love and struggle is a sign of faith for all to see. Bishop Charleston shares these comforting words:

Rise up in hope again today, no matter what may seek to hold you down. If the world around you seems dark, then have faith that your own light will only shine the brighter. Your witness is needed now more than ever. Do not bow your head before the story you hear being told by others, but lift your voice to tell your own story, a story of beauty and wonder, a story of love and struggle, the narrative of a life lived and lived well, a sign of faith for all to see. Rise up in hope again today, for you are living testimony to what hope can do when hope is set free.

So beyond every struggle, we do rise up in hope once again. And we are a living testimony of what happens when hope is set free!