Hope is Not Canceled by Barry Hughes

Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of something you already know. When times are challenging, when we are frustrated or disappointed, we can know something intellectually and not be able to feel it or find the truth of it in our heart. That’s when to be reminded of something we already know is a gift.

On my walk I came upon this beautiful little garden with this simple but powerful sign: “Hope is not Cancelled”. I already knew that fact. I’ve believed the truth of this sign for a lifetime. But the impact was profound. As I stopped and spent a moment, I realized that though I knew this truth, I had not really felt it in awhile.

The great Langston Hughes wrote,

“Hold fast to dreams,

For if dreams die,

Life is a broken-winged bird,

That cannot fly.”

Hope matters. The challenge is that in the times we need hope the most, hope is often hard to feel and hard to find. Hope is a powerful force, both by its presence and by its absence. With hope, we human creatures can endure struggles and challenges that, looking back, seem impossible to bear. Without hope, we can be lost in our despair to the point that our despair is all we can see.

How wonderful to be like this sign, a reminder of hope to those around us. May our kindness be a light in the darkness. May our compassion lead us from judgement to understanding and acceptance. May we love in such a way that others feel hope again in their hearts.

The Psalmist writes, “God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted shall never perish.” Perhaps we are to be for others the sign that reminds them of what they already know. Hope is not cancelled.

Peace.