.
Hi! I’m so glad you’re here. Not just here on this blog post, but here in the world in this moment in time. Trust me, that is no accident.
.
I’ve called this gathering because I see you out there, doing good work of transformation.
I know it isn’t always easy, this whole messy business, and the footing feels shakier than you wish it did at times–and yet even still you have the deep ineffable sense that this is the fullest way to live, a gift and not a burden, so you continue. In your unique way, you continue to choose a life of action over passivity, truth-telling over silence, listening over silencing, curiosity over judgment, healing over resenting, encouraging over shaming, caring over numbing, daring over hiding, giving over accumulating, creating over dwelling, dreaming over despairing… loving, over any reason the world says not to do so.
.
You don’t do this work to prove yourself to anyone, including God–that battle is won –but just to love Him, and allow Him to newly love the world in and through you. You do this to RSVP “yes” to His invitation to participate in His agenda for Good… in this moment… and this one….and this one too…trusting that whether the impact of your work shows up tomorrow, in fifteen years, or never to your knowledge or during your lifetime, this work is valuable because it was never yours to begin with. I see you, I thank you, and, friend, I believe in you.
.
And yet in it all, how crucial to remember that we are of course human. No one is always leading, no one is always inspired, no one has every clear-cut answer. Sometimes we are riding a wave of inspiration and letting it overflow into the lives of others– yet other times we are resting, on the receiving end of some support, or inevitably messing up a bit. Always we are learning.
.
This is good. This is what keeps us open to God, and to each other. This is the only way we can see what we weren’t seeing, walk each other home.
.
I know there’s a lot I’m not seeing. So what would happen, I wondered, if we all paused a moment from the good work of transformation we each feel called to in our lives, to look not forward to the long way to go–or inward to our own human limitation– but right here to one another for some deeper inspiration? Some communal confirmation that we aren’t the only one? I imagined flickering candles coming together from all over, a brief moment in time, creating a bonfire, and then going forth each more blazing than before… to pass it on.
.
So, I reached out to about 587 people (okay, 32 so far, but believe me, I can keep going) (so no, dear reader, you aren’t safe 0:) ) whose examples inspire me every day, told them so, and asked them one question.
.
Each person who responded–I find it helpful to imagine a mic being passed–revealed in his or her own way that yes, among all of the uncertainty, injustice, fear, pain, guilt, division, and fatigue yelling “Defeat is inevitable! Defeat is inevitable!” in our face, there’s a still stronger force infinitely anchored there for our discovery: hope.
.
Hope smiles and replies, “Oh hush” because we all knows who gets the last laugh.
.
So, welcome to the HOPE: a gathering place series. Thank you for being here. May the words of my friends in this place for the next few weeks help us all see the hope we aren’t seeing. May we remember again and again why we bother to keep doing good work of transformation, in faith, together (even if we are very much physically scattered). May we remember that hope inspires hope. And today, may we be renewed in that hope— because Lord knows we do in fact have a lot of good work left to do. ♡
.
“Hi! Where do you find hope?”
.
“I find hope when I have conversations with God in my imagination. Also when I’m with a dog.”
Kiara Wooldridge, age 8. Kiara is an avid reader, writer, agent of kindness, and adventurer who once joined forces with her sister to lead me on a tour around the world—all without leaving their yard.
.
“I find hope in the future of nursing. As nursing education continues to advance and higher nursing degrees are recommended, we continue to see young, new nurses that are very eager to learn and help others. That eagerness and compassion makes me optimistic that the future of nursing is in good hands.
[As an oncology nurse] I’m able to build ongoing relationships with patients and their families during the hardest times of their lives. It gives me perspective about what’s important in life and allows me to help patients make the most out of the life they have.”
Courtney Ebaugh, BSN, RN, is an oncology nurse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has a deeply caring heart, a cat named Merlot, and an annual “mud run” tradition with her family.
.
“As a kid I went to a Catholic school where we were taught strong Christian values. I vividly remember singing the hymn, “Give me hope, Jehovah, ‘til the morning comes.” The night resembled the troubled times where hope was the only thing that kept you sane from all the evil thoughts at the night. Though I am Buddhist by birth and follow the Buddhist teachings, the words in the hymn stuck with me till now.
For me, hope is something that keeps you dreaming for a better tomorrow and gives you the strength to carry on even in the darkest times. Sometimes you hurt and fall to the deepest of abyss and fear–it’s hope that makes us believe in ourselves and everything around us.”
Prateek Syangden is the program coordinator for Childreach Nepal, where he runs sports for development projects for children/youth in rural Nepal that focus on child protection, education, and gender-related issues. He is a prime example of how the wisest among us also tend to be the goofiest.
.
“I find hope in every breath I take. In every time I see someone being kind. In every gentle breeze that cools me down during the summer. In every book that takes me on a journey, that connects me to all the people who have read that same book. I find hope in new life because it teaches me how fragile we all are but also how much kindness we all are capable of. These are trying times and although despair might be in the frontline, hope is what helps us keep moving forward and striving for a better tomorrow.”
Daniel Moreno was formerly a teacher at The Bridgeway School–a high school for youth recovering from substance abuse–in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and now works in graphic design. He immigrated from Venezuela at age 10, and shares his story to lift up and advocate for fellow Dreamers in our nation. I am very indebted to his encouragement as I stumbled through Spanish language school.
“God. Jesus.”
Jacob Brown is an artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania whose gorgeous art narrates in vivid color and texture his experience with cerebral palsy. He works at Target, loves his friends from Best Buddies, and enjoys skiing, rowing, and wholeheartedly engaging in the creative process. (More of his work here!)
.
“Hope is found in Jesus Christ, who is always with us, who loves us and forgives us every day, who teaches us how to be better. I found my hope when I believed I had lost everything with the death of my baby… but God taught me that life continues and that there is no one more important than Jesus, that we will die, but we will live in Christ Jesus. God is good and is on our side always!” (translated)
Maria Ofelia Gutierrez is the absolutely luminous director of the Finca del Niño children’s home in Trujillo, Honduras–and one of my biggest role models. Her faith in God through the loss of her child inspires her work with the children of the Finca each day.
.
“I find hope in the little things… in the many, small ways we can show care for one another each and every day. I find hope in the people I’ve been blessed to be around, and the ways they actively and intentionally seek to make this world better for us all.
I find hope in the realization that change is always possible and the goodness of God can and is often reflected in the goodness of people, especially in those you least expect.
I recall when I was much younger, my father and I were having car troubles. Someone actually stopped to help us (a rarity when you’re a black man in America). That someone was a burly man covered in tattoos, some of the Nazi variety. At first, we were apprehensive, but needed the help he so graciously offered. While pushing the car to the roadside, we all got to talking. He had recently got out of prison, and was seeking to make amends for his past. I find hope in knowing that at any point in time, we all have the capability to be like this man.
When we are born, our lives stream us into certain directions, some much more positive than others. When you face a stream of negativity, even though it can be extremely difficult, there is hope to change for the better. I find hope in knowing that I come from a long line of survivors. Those who came before me swam upstream. They fought tooth and nail to survive in a world that actively excluded and terrorized them while simultaneously fighting for liberties that we take for granted today. My ancestors, both far and near, faced adversity that I could never begin to imagine. It is because of them and their unwillingness to let life’s current sweep them away, here I am: hopefully passing the torch of a better life to my future children. I find hope in knowing that I too can overcome the circumstances of my birth and provide my posterity with better.”
William Dean Merriweather is a poet, a University of Notre Dame graduate, and the founder of Monarch Fashion Co. who will be attending New England Law School this fall. He is an encourager and peace-builder, and while at Notre Dame, dedicated time to helping me and many others register to vote.
.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1
.
Go forth, brave friends. I’ll see you next week 🙂