Hope is a word often used lightly or in a way which skirts its intended or exact meaning.

You might say, “I hope the Cowboys win this weekend” or “it’s my hope to make it to the meeting on time.”

“I hope we have pasta for dinner” is a use an Italian cuisine foodie might enjoy.

You get the picture.

Dictionary.com defines the verb form of hope like this, “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence”.

I prefer the noun definition, “a person or thing in which expectations are centered.”

Proverbs instructs us about the polar opposite effects of hope deferred and hope realized.

When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul. Proverbs 13:12 (The Passion Translation)

The New Living Translation puts it this way.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

If you have a heartbeat you surely have had things you hoped for delay their arrival or be absent altogether.

A tearful mother might say,  “I wish my son would call, it’s been years since we have spoken and I miss him.”

Hope deferred. Ouch.

A young husband may express, “We’ve longed to have a baby and now my wife is pregnant.”

Desires fulfilled and life’s sweetness satisfying one’s soul. Pure excitement!

Like the wind, you can’t see hope or touch it.

Or can you?

Like many Americans and others from around the world, my thoughts have been captured by recent current events.

A week started with an attack on innocent bystanders in Manhattan on a crisp, fall day. These were people taking in the best the season has to offer – they were out for walks, jogs, and riding their bicycles while soaking in the richness and colors of autumn.

A day which commenced with the best of intentions ended in tragedy. Innocent people mowed down on a bike trail by an alleged terrorist using a rented truck as weapon.

Six days later in a community near San Antonio, Texas twenty six members of a small, Baptist church were killed by a crazed gunman while they attended their weekly morning service. They were there to worship God.

What they, and the nation, soon discovered was unimaginable horror unleashed by a perpetrator’s hatred ending in a shooting rampage. More than half of those who died were children, including the pastor’s 14 year old daughter who attended the service while her parents were out of town.

One family lost eight members, spanning three generations, in the senseless killings.  News reports cited crying babies being shot at point blank range.

Most of the church’s congregation was either killed or injured. Horrific, simply horrific!

As onlookers from afar, it could be easy to allow the hope meter to point toward empty especially after watching many of the news reports.

For those who remain in Sutherland Springs, their families and friends were taken away – needlessly I might add.

If ever there were a legitimate reason to lose hope, this would be it. No one would blame them.

Circling back to my preferred definition of hope, “a person or thing in which expectations are centered” offers a potential solution.

Can there be a person in which our expectations could be centered and produce hope?

This is a bill which cannot be paid in human form.

As I sit here and think about this, the words contained in an old hymn seem to offer us The Hope we might be looking for in this or any situation where hope is needed:

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name.”

The refrain continues,

“On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

On the surface hope is one of those things which we cannot touch. However, beneath the surface Hope touches us in the form of a loving God working through people caring for one another.

For the people in Manhattan or Sutherland Springs affected by these senseless tragedies, the hope they long for has been found in the tears shared with neighbors, the courageous actions of first responders, the arms of compassion extended to them by friends and strangers, and the millions of prayers being offered to a living God on their behalf.

Vice President Pence offered his thoughts while visiting Texas as shown in the image below.

“…we do not grieve like those who have no hope – for our faith (God) and our heroes (people) give us hope.”

Good words to hang your hat on.

Be His hope to someone today whether it is by your words or actions – make a difference in your world.

Hope is calling on you today, will you answer the call?

Have you ever had a word or thought pop out at you, constantly tugging at your pant leg or swirling around your eyes like a gnat in summer?

For whatever the reason, and I am taking the time to personally explore why, the word “season” has crept into my mental lexicon the past week or so.

According to Dictionary.com, consider the following definitions of the word “season” in its noun form:

• One of the four periods of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), beginning astronomically at an equinox or solstice, but geographically at different dates in different climates.
• A period of the year characterized by particular conditions of weather, temperature, etc.: the rainy season.
• A period of the year when something is best or available: the oyster season.
• A period of the year marked by certain conditions, activities, etc.: baseball season.
• A period of the year immediately before and after a special holiday or occasion: the Christmas season.
• A period with reference to the total number of games to be played by a team: a 162-game season.
• A period with reference to the won-lost record of a team after it has completed its schedule: a .700 season.
• Any period or time: in the season of my youth.
• A suitable, proper, fitting, or right time: This is not the season for frivolity.

In a recent post I described how the winter continues its grip on much of the country and simply does not want to yield to spring.

Our region was teased with two, nearly 60° days earlier this week only to return to howling, biting winds and more of the northern intruder, under the guise of The Vortex.  Go figure!

No matter how much it may appear that winter won’t take a back seat to spring – it will.  It is a function of the calendar.

The cycle will continue with spring slipping into summer, summer tripping into fall, and fall tumbling full circle back into winter.

Suddenly, the words to “Do-Re-Mi” of Sound of Music fame are making music in my noggin – “Let’s start at the very beginning….”

Winter haters please put down your guns I am only citing the obvious and the inevitable!

We are told “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

“Season”, being defined as any period or time, is in the vision field of my binoculars for now.

We all have various seasons or periods of time in our lives serving as threads woven into our tapestry.  A few are listed below:

• Some of us have seasons where we simply don’t feel like making the effort to step toward the next thing in our lives – we may be weary.
• We experience seasons of happiness, sadness, despair, and elation – emotions tossed into the recipe, making their way into our mixing bowl.
• We may go through seasons of employment, job loss, and the in between.  If you are parked in The In Between, I’d suggest you explore this resource by Jeff Goins. 
• We know the joy of seasons of life and the heartache of seasons of death.
• How can we forget (I am sure some of you would like to!) the baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or hunting seasons?
• As parents, some of us know the seasons of giving birth to children, raising them, and watching them leave the nest – all the time wondering where the time has gone.
• In the natural world we go through seasons of planting and seasons of harvest (think apple pie!)
• There are seasons of silence and seasons of having our say; there are seasons of dancing and seasons of grieving – all part of this game we call Life.
• There are seasons to keep something (be it physical or not) and a season to throw things away (as in securing a dumpster to clean up the clutter given we are in spring cleaning season!)  
• There are seasons when we get a call that equates to an anvil being lifted off our chest, like good friends of mine received today and shared with me as I wrote this post.

One of the great things about seasons is simply this – they come and they go. 

Whether it is in the natural order of things or phases of our life, seasons are characterized by their passing nature.  As in “not permanent”.

That alone should give us hope.  A hope that is eternal.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us…” (Romans 5:3-5 NLT)

Be thankful for the present season you may be experiencing.  Even if it is painful, it is most likely is a step toward a better date on the calendar.

We may not know what tomorrow will toss our way.  We do know this, it will come and it will eventually go.

Whatever season you may find yourself steeped in, the page is about to turn and another part of your story is about to be written.

By the way, spring is almost here!  Seasons change.  The question is,  will you?

Can you recall some seasons in your life,  either good or not so good,  for which you can express thankfulness?

Photo Credit – Brittany Castillejo