Hope

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans15:13, Common English Bible

Sometimes it's confused with luck, or with chance. It's that last thing you want in your pocket when all your other plans don't pan out. But Paul, the author of this letter, offers another meaning: trust.

I used to have a pastor (he called himself reverent) that hated it when people said, "lucky."  He said that we weren't lucky. We were blessed.  Good things happened by blessing not merely luck or chance.  Although I trust in the Spirit, I also trust in those around me, Nature...  and I feel blessed.

Unfortunately, I'm also a very tired and crabby person lately, so I need to search for the blessings and trust.  Today I found blessings in the people at my work place.  After a long morning of circuits being blown (?terminology?) by space heaters, fellow colleagues let me teach in their rooms.  My options were technology (my computer and my Smartboard) or heat.  I figured that I really needed both of them.  I taught in my room plus two rooms of colleagues while the custodians worked hard trying to get both heat and technology in my room.  It gave me an understanding of how blessed I am not to travel from room to room as some of my colleagues must do.  Even when things don't go as I would like them to, I am blessed.  Hope, Blessings, Trust... I think these all work together.