Hope In Connection
Over my three years as a hospital chaplain, it became clear to me that whether or not a patient had hope made a huge impact on their experience. Some people found hope in a surgery removing all of their cancer. Others found hope in the antibiotic that would cure their infection. So many people looked for hope in what the medical team (focused on physicians) could do for them. Plenty of people found their solution that way, but many of the people chaplains spend time with have learned that they cannot hope in what their doctor can do. Some realized that doctors have their limits too. Others felt betrayed by the promise of a system that intends to do no harm but did harm them.
For these folks, the disillusioned, many struggled mightily to find hope, and some gave up. They were too tired of “getting their hopes up” for the next treatment or scan. Nevertheless, there were those who persisted. Despite all they had gone through, and it was a lot, they often had a similar story of hope. It wasn’t complicated or particularly difficult to find. These folks had hope because, deep down, they knew they weren’t walking their journey alone. They could have come through so much pain and constant fatigue. They could have been let down time after time. But if they knew that somehow they weren’t alone, they had the will to keep moving forward. That could mean that they knew their nurse really cared about them. That could be their faith in God shepherding them. It could be just one person sharing a moment of communion with them.
What hope does Pilgrim Endurance rely on?
I have heard it said that fear is an effective motivation to stop a behavior and that hope is effective for starting a behavior. I want you, my readers, to reach up and reach out of your silos and engage in community. I want you to maintain your stoke for your devotion to a daily rendezvous with God. I want you to offer the fruits of that to your world.
Where do we look for hope?
Sure, we can find hope in external events, like the Israelites did when YHWH rescued them from slavery in Egypt. This might be one of the easiest ways to look for hope. We can find it in the springtime renewal of plantlife. We can find hope in a job offer or a vacation planned or a candidate elected or a medical cure. This can often look like making a running goal to improve on a personal best or be on a race podium or finish a race. This too shall pass.
But what about that hope within you?
Much content can get in the way of the source of hope. We can easily think that our hope depends on what happens out there, and while external events can give us hope, we do well not to put all our eggs in that basket. It’s not in your control, but then again, is hope something you can control? Maybe our hope comes from a source outside our control, and that’s precisely what gives us so much hope. Maybe it’s not an achievement but a gift.
What would your life be like if your hope came from an encounter with Christ?
What if the hope that motivates so many good things in you came from your experience of a loving and merciful God who you can count on?
What if your hope came from that transformational experience of encountering Christ in the real circumstances of your life?
What if that happened while running, or when you can’t run?
What if it happened while you were cleaning your bathroom or working on a spreadsheet?
One of the most powerful fruits of encounter with Christ is this deep confidence that you’re not alone, that you’re not separate, that there’s a certain unity to all of creation.
I imagine that if you’re reading my blog you have either had an encounter with Christ, want one, or had one and continue to look for more. In this case, it may be redundant to say that our hope comes most-truly from the transformation of these encounters. It gives us hope to know that God can turn our lives around. We already know plenty of ways that needs to happen. God asks us to keep showing up. All we can really do is keep saying yes when God calls. To do that well, each of us needs a support system and a wider community to help discern. Maybe your life will turn into fruit for a huge number of people, but for most of us, our lives have the hope of “doing small things with great love” as St. Teresa of Calcutta said. Say yes to whatever little step is right in front of you.
Say yes to offering yourself grace and mercy and kindness. Say yes to offering yourself rest and good food, and healthy exercise. Say yes to serving the people you are in contact with. Say yes to search out the support people who can help you hone your gifts. Say yes to healthy boundaries in work and relationships.
