Hope (The Lit Candle)

Hope is the little light that stays on even when everything else seems dark. It is like planting a tiny seed in the dirt during winter and knowing that a flower will come out when the sun returns. Even if things are hard right now, hope is the voice in your heart that says it is going to get better. It gives you the energy to keep trying and keep being kind. It is the bridge that carries us from a sad today to a happy tomorrow.

The bridge that carries us from a sad today to a happy tomorrow. Hope is not optimism. Optimism says everything will be fine. Hope says I will keep walking even though I do not know if everything will be fine. Hope is braver than optimism. Optimism needs evidence. Hope does not. The sprout in the snow has no evidence that spring is coming. The sprout pushes through anyway. That is hope. Every sacred tradition that survived persecution survived because someone held a candle when the room had no light. The candle did not end the darkness. The candle proved the darkness was not everything.

Hope as proleptic emotion: experiencing the future good in the present moment. A vital survival mechanism maintaining agency and cognitive function during trauma. Hope is braver than optimism. Optimism needs evidence. Hope does not. The candle did not end the darkness. The candle proved the darkness was not everything.

SOUND: The first bird chirping before the sun comes up: sound arriving before proof.

SMELL: Cinnamon and baking bread: the smell of something good that is not ready yet.

TASTE: A sweet strawberry: proof that patience produces sweetness.

TOUCH: A warm ray of sun on your face: the future touching you before it arrives.

SIGHT: The first green sprout coming out of snow: life refusing to accept the cold's verdict.

BODY: Leaning forward in anticipation: the body aiming itself at something it cannot yet see.

Music: In Christ Alone by Keith & Kristyn Getty

Part of Salvation & Redemption — RELIGION — Education Revelation