This morning I woke up and the expression "hope floats" came to my mind. I have thought about it all day, puzzling the significance of such a saying. As I've tried to relate the concept of hope to my own life, all I can see are all the hopes that I have that have not yet been realized. Yet... hope floats. Hope is the act of believing that a promise will be fulfilled. Hope can buoy one's soul up in the midst of an emotional tempest. Sometimes I think that I have lost all hope, but inevitably something will happen to help hope to float back to the surface of my spirit.
Father Abraham hoped even in the face of impossible circumstances. He had been promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the sands, and this when he was a very old man. Despite the odds he hoped and believed. As we all know, the promise was fulfilled.
I too have the hope of being a wife and mother, whether in this life or in the next. What do I do with my hope in the meantime? In proverbs we read: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12 When I read this scripture I felt vindicated. "Ah Ha!" I wanted to shout, "so you do admit that hope can make you heartsick." Then I reread the scripture. The word 'deferred' means "to put off or delay an action or consideration". To me the scripture is saying that when WE put off the act of hoping our heart becomes sick. We have to choose to defer hope, but if we let that hope float within us we find that our desire blossoms.
I know that I sound very optimistic and it is true that all is right with my world right now. Holding onto hope when things look dark can be tricky. It's no secret that I have been guilty of falling down the rabbit hole of despair, but I have always gotten my hope back when I invited Hope's sisters, Faith and Charity, to stay awhile in my heart. I realize that when I am faithful in keeping my covenants and when I serve others that is when my hope truly floats.
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