I had someone tell me the other day "enough of this "HOPE" stuff ... you have more than HOPE ...
I don't really know what I have that is more important than MY HOPE ~ I can't think of anything!
I have known love and it hurts ... I have a foundation of faith and it reassures me ... but "MY HOPE" keeps me going!
Learning to love taught me how to give unconditionally and forgive the same ~ it also taught me that just because you give it, doesn't mean that it will be returned equally.
"MY HOPE" ... what it means to me ... it is something that I am, that I do!
Most people understand hope as wishful thinking, as in "I hope something will happen."
This is not what true hope means to me.
The "Biblical" definition of hope is "confident expectation." Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown (Romans 8:24-25; Hebrews 11:1,7). Hope is a fundamental component of the life of the righteous (Proverbs 23:18). Without hope, life loses its meaning (Lamentations 3:18, Job 7:6) and in death there is no hope (Isaiah 38:18,Job 17:15). Those who trust or put their hope in God will be helped (Psalm 28:7), and they will not be confounded, put to shame, or disappointed (Isaiah 49:23).
Along with faith and love, hope is an enduring virtue of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 13:13), and love springs from hope (Colossians 1:4-5). Hope produces joy and peace in believers through the power of the Spirit (Romans 12:12, 15:13).
I was given the passage above [as a child] by my grandmother~ it stays in my purse all the time so when I am down & out, I read it and remember ... NEVER GIVE UP! God has a plan ... when I make plans, HE LAUGHS! I am certain that I am HIS constant source of entertainment!
I will never understand the way my life has turned out ... the "why" of so, so many things that are beyond my comprehension (my health, my past, my failures, my losses and my demons ...)
Trust me, I always try to succeed and achieve in the things in life I WANT ... but even when it doesn't happen for me, I still have HOPE ... MY HOPE!
I am blessed ~ very blessed, more so than I deserve ~ and I am appreciative and grateful for everything in my world, and even for the things that I don't have bc those struggles and disappointments only served to make me who I am today ~ stronger, more independent.
No matter the situation or outcome, choices and decisions made beyond my control that affect my life, my world ... HOPE remains within me; it always will.
Just like I don't understand how people live without it, I realize that some people do not understand and have a difficult time understanding me because of it ... my "unconditional" ... but, this is how I choose to cope with life.
I laugh, I love, and I have HOPE!
Never give up on something you cannot go a day without thinking about ...
"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway."
Mother Theresa
