The Power and Promise of Hope
Exquisite Kindness
A day or two ago, I was surfing Facebook sites to which I post. On the website of one of the churches I served was a note from a church member that stopped me in my tracks. I have no real idea what led that church member to write what he/she did. But that post reminded me that in the midst of a difficult world there are folks who exhibit exquisite kindness.
Hope is not something you and I were meant to hold on to until better times showed up. Hope isn’t the ultimate healer of all of our problems. Hope is a state of mind, a worldview, an attitude that transcends how we look back at the past and how we encounter the present. As you and I approach our unique futures, hope is not intended to be the automatic antidote for all things problematic.
Ever have a thought come to mind and not know where it came from or where it was going to lead you? That happened to me today. What was I going to do with my nagging thought? It would not leave me alone.
I remember sitting at the bedside of a member of one of the churches I served. He was quite old and he was dying. His wife had called me to ask that I come and be with him. She said that he had some questions for me. I knew this would be a tough encounter for two reasons: 1) this gentleman was so weak that it would take all my concentration just to hear him speak and 2) I knew this was probably my last chance to have the opportunity to answer whatever questions he had. I wouldn’t get the opportunity to clarify any answers I might give him.
“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not disgrace to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim, is a sin.” (Benjamin Mays – 1894-1984)
I wasted a day yesterday and for the first time I can remember, I was, I am aware indeed that it was a wasted day.