During the many years I worked with victims of trauma I learned that some of them had inexplicable resilience. They survived. They healed. They became stronger with each passing day. It became a passion for me to figure out why some had resilience and others did not.
I never figured it out. I simply watched them in awe as they gathered the shattered pieces of their lives and put them back together. I marveled at the life they reclaimed, at the existence they recreated. I was inspired by their strength. I admired their inimitable hope. Today I know many of them, traumatized as children, as healthy, happy women full of hope.
In the end, the only explanation I had was their hope, a resilient hope that defied the odds every time. The writing of Bishop Steven Charleston gives voice to this kind of hope.
I don’t think there are many human feelings as tough and resilient as hope. Love is the only other and they both are as strong as steel, even though we talk about them as if they were made of air. Hope has gotten me through some very hard days. I am willing to bet the same is true for you. Gotten me through not with airy wishes, but with a determination to stand my ground until the next dawn sends the shadows running. Never underestimate hope. It is the lifeline. It is what your soul sees when your eyes are in darkness. Hope is the eternal light that no fear can overcome.
Whatever trouble you may encounter, may hope guide your way and give you strength.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Â – Romans 15:13
God of the Sparrow 🌱 By Kathy Manis Findley 