An Instance of Hope
“My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God’s people.” (Ephesians 1:18)
A ONE ACT PLAY
Scene: A dark room with enough pre-dawn light to see a woman sitting in a chair by a bed in which a young girl is sleeping. The woman’s voice comes from off-stage – she is narrating a story, telling about an experience…she is trying to bring it to life for you.
I am sitting by my daughter’s bed watching her sleep. Every parent has done so, many times. It is a time of mixed feelings and thoughts. Memories of her childhood flash by like snapshots with each impish expression and twinkle in the eye as clear as if it was yesterday. It warms the soul and brings a smile to my lips.
Then my heart wrenches as the realities of this world rush in…pain, illness, evil…and I cannot protect her! I am helpless to prevent any of this from happening!
As dawn breaks, its light coming through a window, revealing that the room in which the girl sleeps and the woman sits is a hospital room with all its monitors, tubes and medical equipment.
Tears fill my eyes and my hands clench into tight fists. Cold, paralyzing fear invades my being. The fear of hopelessness…but wait…
At that moment the sun sends its first rays into the room.
…in my heart there is an ember. I can feel its presence though its warmth is just beyond reach. Something is vaguely familiar. I close my eyes and try to place this memory. My clenched fists come together and I rest my head on my entwined fingers.
The light coming into the window brightens.
The ember starts to glow and the heat radiates, melting those places in my heart that were frozen in fear. There is a strong tendency to resist. My logical mind shouts about the foolishness of my beliefs, the futility of my hope.
A cloud covers the sun and dims the light coming from the window.
Hope.
The sun breaks from behind the cloud and fills the room with warmth and light.
The ember sparks to life, its flame small, yet steady. Ah, yes…Hope. That illusive, intangible belief that is the center of my faith. How could I have forgotten so easily?
Interestingly, I find myself in the posture to pray. As I turn from the darkness of fear, and focus on the light of the Hope in Christ, that ever-present flame becomes a blaze of warmth and comfort. God is good. All the time. God is always there. We are the ones that turn our backs, step away or are too busy. We are the ones that forget, not God. It is only when I distance myself from God that fear is allowed to creep its way into my soul. My prayer is to not let that happen to me again, or to you.
Silhouette of the woman praying framed in the window. In the bed, the young girl stirs and whispers, “Mom?”
Father God – Instill in us the fire of your Hope for us and for this world. Help us to cling to that Hope in times of pain and suffering, to share that Hope by being more loving to others and to strengthen that Hope by becoming a more Hope-filled people in our daily lives. Help us to not forget that your plan for our future is amazing and that that future starts now.
Kim can be reached via email here.