Hope and Faith Moments

What Do You Hope For In Your Life?

What do you hope for in your life?

It's a simple enough question, but one I find most people are at a loss to answer, or are very uncomfortable considering. I sometimes hear people hope for good weather for an event or a trip, or a sports victory, or even a good parking spot at the mall. I rarely hear people hope for anything large or having substance, as if to do so is a voodoo curse.

So, no holds barred, what would you hope for if there were no restrictions, no limits? Health, the perfect job, a comfortable home, an opportunity to travel the world? I encourage you to take a deep breath, exhale, close your eyes and try this exercise. Try to remember the very best, most magical day of your life. What was it like? Who was with you? Where wee you? What were you doing? Remember the sounds, the smells, the flavors of each moment as you revive these memories in your mind and being. Cherish each smile, each reflection, each thought as you recall each detail. What did that experience feel like?

No, take another deep breath, exhale and close your eyes. Imagine that tomorrow is all yours. You have the opportunity to create a perfect day, just the way you want it to be. No one else creating your life or calling the shots. No one laying claims on any of your time. No financial restrictions. What would you do with tomorrow? Would you get up early to watch the sunrise? Would you take a quick trip to the seashore? Would you clean out your closets? Maybe plant a new flowerbed in your front yard? Ready a favorite book, cover to cover/ Perhaps fly to New Orleans for a walk down Bourbon Street? Would you work a few hours in a soup kitchen before taking off for the opera in New York?

Open your eyes and jot down everything you might like to do. There's no point in pretending you can't do everything on that list because you can. Not all in one day, but there is no reason to believe that the desires of your heart cannot be realized. The first step is to practice hoping in concrete forms. Small, medium or large hopes are the fabric of our lives. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God's Word is hope, and our imagining this hope alive is the first step to making this hope, our desires and God's desires for us and the world, manifest.

Hope small, hope medium and hope large. Hope often. Keep a hope journal and see what comes of actually believing that God hopes with us. Live your hope and see what that does to shape your life anew.

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 10:20 AM