Author Charlotte Bronte said, “the human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed; the thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, whose charms were broken if revealed.” All of us say things like, “As long as there’s life, there’s hope” or “Hope is tying a knot at the end of the rope and holding on….for dear life!” Hope is believing that things will get better or wishing for something with great expectation.
All of us are guilty of hoping. We spend a great deal of our lives hoping for something. Even children have this hope phenomena, especially around this time of the year. Children and adults alike are hoping that Santa will bring them that special gift for Christmas.
But when hope seems delayed or denied, mental and emotional illness can cause some people to look for a permanent way out and sadly, suicide is the result. When you take your life, there’s nothing more God can do for you. Suicide excludes God. It leaves a legacy of unresolved pain that will live on in the hearts of your loved ones.
Hopelessness can lead to anxiety and anxiety can lead to depression. It can cause someone to stop reaching out for help because past attempts for help have not worked. In our society there is a growing number of people who have given up hoping which is why so many are “living on the streets.”
But hopelessness may serve a purpose, according to Czech statesman and writer Vaclav Havel, who said, “isn’t it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope, perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity.”
So, let’s not give up hoping for the things that we need in life. And if Santa doesn’t bring you what your heart is hoping for, just keep on hoping because tomorrow or the next day might be the time that God has for your blessings to come true. And Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
