What Stirs Hope Today?

Why might hope be stirring in me today, this sixth day of Advent?

... because I got an email from David Plouff announcing that our new President is inviting us to host house meetings across the land, to continue the work of shaping what WE together can do to bring change to this land and our collective spirit.

... because my dear friend, after a long and winding journey toward ordination, has encountered the Holy Spirit in Baptist colleagues and potential mentors, and has found this day affirmation, trust, respect.

... because a long, leisurely dinner with another restored me so very much, and reminded my SENSES what a treasure my/our time is.

... because so many care about making a difference, and I choose to watch and work with them while I pray for those who can't yet care.

Hope is not wishful thinking, because wishful thinking lacks evidence. Hope is a force that counts as evidence those things which despair does not. They might be mundane, dismissed, or even threatening to the forces of oppression:

-- small things, like house meetings
-- staying power on a winding journey, and those who give it due honor
-- delightful conversation (including, among other things, "Conversations with God")
-- the internet's ability to introduce me to inspiring, visionary work around the world

As I write this, I am mindful that there is some deep connection between hope and gratitude, or at least the attention that leads potentially to gratitude. If hope arises, if it wells up within us instead of landing upon us, perhaps it is because even in the coldest, most desolate places there is yet a seedling of gratitude. Hope rises despite the odds (and some powers and principalities and their stories). Hope rises because a felt connection (gratitude) is made between need and God's vast resources of potential.

Blessed be!