Hope!!


Today we're in Proverbs 13...favorite verses for today are:

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."
And then this one:

"A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul..."

As I write this, I am once again sitting outside, on the deck in my backyard...it is early evening...the sun is still up, but it is setting and the glare of midday is gone...only a warm glow is left...evening is coming, and fall is coming soon. This is one of the few remaining days I'll have this fall when the sun is still up when I arrive home from work. And so...I am basking in the fall breeze that stirs my windchimes...I don't think there is a sound I love more than the sound of wind blowing through the leaves and the windchimes...what a beautiful picture it is to connect a tree of life with the feeling of a longing fulfilled...

Some longings we share easily with others...and some we keep treasured in our hearts...church bells just began to peel at the neighborhood church...this moment in time is an exquisite snapshot of what makes life beautiful...a visual and auditory postcard that I feel powerless to convey through a blog...perhaps our deepest longings are like this moment...they are so deeply felt, so precious to our souls...even to try and convey them seems cheap...

Who do you share your longings with? Many years ago I began seeing a therapist because I was struggling with depression...I will never forget when she asked me, "what do you long for?" I could not answer...I could barely stand to say the word "longing..."

Because it was so difficult for me to connect to my own soul at that time in my life, it was almost painful for me to even hear the word, much less to try and express that level of feeling...it is better for me today...but there are still times when I struggle with the vulnerability of allowing someone so close to my heart...to allow someone to peer directly into my soul.

We might talk about hope, and what we hope for in this life, but I think it takes some work to share our deepest hopes and longings...and...I think it is spiritual work that is very much needed in our world today.

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