I've been pondering hope lately. I haven't come up with very many insights, I'm afraid. I often wonder if I hope for too much in life . . . from life. Do I hope for too much from those around me? Do I hope for too much from myself? Is a hopeful person really just overconfident? You hope for something, expect it . . . does that make you delusional or a fool? And if someone stops hoping and faces a harsh reality . . . why do we call it "giving up hope?" Like they have somehow failed a test of character by giving up. Never, never, never give up, said the wise man. Well . . . aren't there times when we should give up?
Like I said, I don't have any insights. Only questions. And kind of depressing questions at that, now that I look at them. Maybe I shouldn't be so introspective, haha. I have been so full of hope for the near future, and one comment has me wondering if I'm just being foolish to expect so much to go well. Andy and I aren't the kind of people who expect life to fall into our laps; we've worked hard to build our life together. I'm not afraid of hard work--my parents taught me how to work. I'm just afraid of hard work ending in failure. Of wasted hope.
No Mary, you aren't asking for too much. And no, you should never give up hope. Mary, Heavenly Father gives us hope through Jesus Christ and through His plan for us. There is always, always hope. To me, it is all about WHO we are placing our hope, faith, and trust in. Granted, there are times that it FEELS like everything is failing and we can't seem to understand why... and those times suck. But, being hopeful isn't being overconfident. Being hopeful is putting faith and trust in Heavenly Father and His plan for us ahead of what we may want in our "life plans." And I don't really believe in "giving up" or losing hope... especially if it is reference to Him, His plan, or our faith. For me, it is more of aligning what I'm hoping for in MY views/plan with what Heavenly Father has in his sights for me. As long as we're setting our sights on becoming and developing the characteristics HE has in mind for us, there isn't really a way to "fail" or "give up hope." We may have to accept hard truths that His plans are different than ours, but as long as we accept that He knows us and knows exactly how to help us learn and grow, trusting Him completely, we will find happiness. That's just my own thoughts on hope. They've been hard learned and I'm sure in two or three years, I'll be facing trials that will make me re-learn them. It's hard... learning to trust and admit that we aren't the ones in control. But, He loves you. He loves your family. And He knows the right timing and will shower you with blessings after the refiner's fire. Until then, you have angels watching over you, strengthening you, and friends to send hugs.
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