Hope Floats

I'm not exactly sure of my feelings about "The Hunger Games" but I did take away a very significant quote from that movie that has been in the back of my mind all week.   “Hope is the only thing more powerful than fear.”

I came to terms with that quote tonight while discussing the failing health of my dad with my brother.  Hope is what moves, inspires, drives us. Without it, what's left?

My dad wants to die.  He's suffered a long time and the suffering is only increasing.  He is not afraid of death and not afraid to live but He's lost all hope.  Even if he were afraid of death the fact that his hope is gone has far outweighed any fear there may be.

Change in our lives does not take place without hope.  In fact, its when we are in hopeless situations that we make our most important changes.  It is not simply a desirable condition, it is a basic NEED of humans to be able to hope and believe.  When hope is gone, part of us dies.  I've seen it happen time and time again.

When I was married, I lost hope.  I had a fear of being single but the hope of a new life and clean slate far outweighed the fear of being single.  No doubt the old marriage had to die.  The pain and hurt were HUGE but I saw little sprouts of hope here and there.  That is how I know hope is indeed, much more powerful than fear.  It was my main motivator to change.

When I was heavy, my health began to fail.  I feared trying yet another diet and failing and had lost hope of conquering my food addiction.  Remicade (my arthritis medication) changed that.  It gave me hope.  It enabled me to feel better and be able to move more.  That hope completely abolished my fear of failure.  With that hope in place, I knew I could be a success.  I knew that I could be healthy and began to embrace the changes I needed to make.

So I suppose that even though I hate the suffering and I fear the outcome, hope of something new, something better is what keeps me going.  This applies in any situation:   dad's illness, failed relationships, my job, losing weight.  Change most often brings improvement therefore hope is also the fruit of change.  It's one more way God loves us.  He gave us free will even though He knows our choices are often going to be wrong.  But his mercy brings us hope in spite of our stupid selves.  When life gets me down, I will look for those sprouts of hope because they are always there if we seek them.

It's when we quit seeking that we die.  I'm afraid my dad is no longer seeking.  But because my God gives hope, I know dad will be okay no matter the outcome.  Love will see us through.

“Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they've been betrayed, to those who still love even though they've been hurt before.”

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13