Real Hope
February 11th, 2009
After seeing that many, many people who were foolish enough to buy into the Hope, that Obama was selling, are now becoming disgruntled, I decided to write about real hope. This is not some false hope, that a politician may promise and never deliver, but real hope for the future.
There are two big sources of hope that I rely on, on a daily basis. They both comfort me greatly, when looking around this world that is turning upside down. My hope comes from my God and my beautiful little daughter.
Let’s look at the hope a child gives her parents first. It is limited to this world, and a relatively short period known as a human lifetime.
We have been raising Brooke for nine months now. The emotions you feel for a child are a paradox to me. You love them with all your heart and are excited when they master a new task and you see them grow. At the same time your heart aches to see them change before your very eyes. The knowledge that they will grow up eventually and carry on with their own lives is both satisfying and depressing.
Even now, at only ten months old, this little human has changed so much, that she is not even recognizable as the little infant that looked up into my eyes the day she was born. I held her in the crook of one arm, and she fit like she was made to be there. Now she is already becoming less dependent on us, and is becoming an individual. She can feed herself, when she wants to, and eats a new food almost daily it seems.
The conflict between being amazed when she wobbles around the coffee table standing up, and the mournful realization that she is not the little, completely helpless, bundle that can’t turn over without your help, is strangely fulfilling. There is nothing I have ever experienced, besides the ups and downs of longing for my wife before we were able to be together all the time, that has ever made me feel the way this child does.
Certainly, there are times when I think about the end of my life and who will go first, my wife or myself. That sadness over the inevitable end of our relationship together, is overwhelming when my thoughts go there. There is comfort in the thought that, hopefully, we will both have lived long enjoyable lives with each other by the time the end comes, that overwhelms the sadness of that horrible coming day.
Maybe this is a male trait. The urges of ultimate responsibility for a wife and child, force any decent man, to think of their wellbeing on a very regular basis. One’s selfishness, must be defeated, and is quite easily abated, when the proposition of such awesome responsibility is viewed from an overarching perspective. The goal of your life is to make sure that your family is provided for, has an enjoyable life in the process, and that a legacy is left on the planet once you are gone.
My point to all this rambling is a simple one. Wives and children, when put in their proper priority in one’s life, bring out all that is wonderful in life. The bittersweet nostalgia for the past, supplements the desire to consciously decide to enjoy every day we are given with our family. This is how God intended things to be. The family reveals his awesome brilliance, if you allow yourself to enjoy it’s rewards.
So, back to the hope of a child. A baby represents so, so much hope. Every one of them, is a masterpiece of potential and innocence. Their future potential is unlimited in the minds of their parents. Even in a world that does not seem to be going in the direction that we want it to, there is hope for a better future for a child.
The hope, joy, and love that I have found in my little Brookie, have changed me as a person. As a man, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for little children, and mothers. There is nothing more foul in my mind than someone that would hurt either of them, and it has been so for as long as my memory can fathom. The fact that my father was a worthless individual, galvanized my knowledge of what a real man is and is not.
After the brief time we have had with Brooke, she has reinforced these instincts at least one hundred fold. I now weep, when there is a story of a child’s death. The contemplation of being in the shoes of those who loved that child, is nearly more than I can bear. That is why there have been posts about abortion, tragic accidents involving young children, and stories of pure evil involving the taking of the lives of the innocent. These thing crush me now, in a way they never did before.
This leads me to my greatest hope of all. In a world that is filled with evil, seemingly coming at my family from every side. My ultimate hope comes from my God. He, who gave up his Son, so that we might be saved from our sin, has provided eternal hope for all who believe.
I realize that not everyone who reads this, believes the way I do, and that is your right. This isn’t a sermon by any means, simply an illustration of why we Christians have hope for the future, regardless of what happens in this world.
Our hope for eternal life, free of pain and evil, helps us get through this life. Certainly many find this foolish, but that is their loss. I am a reasonably intelligent person, and my brain has not fallen out of my head. This post is not the place for justification of my faith, although, that is an interesting topic, that may come up in the future. There is nothing wrong with hope or faith. The Bible states it perfectly at the beginning of Hebrews 11:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
While pondering the horrifying reality of the brutality of this world recently, my wonderful wife sent me this picture.
It tied it all together for me. This is my comfort and hope. When someone harms one of these innocents, Jesus is there to take care of them. He will be there for all of us that believe in Him, when our time here is over.
In the time that God has given me on this earth with my lovely wife, and bouncing baby girl, hopefully my duty to them will be fulfilled as He intended. The Bible instructs us to love our wives as Jesus loves the church. He sacrificed Himself for the church. Therefore I am called to do the same for my wife and child. Their wellbeing must come before mine. In doing so, I learn more every day, about God’s love for us, his children. My appreciation for His sacrifice, is enlarged, by the love I have for my family. I can never hope to understand it fully, but we can see its closest replication here on earth, in our family.
Well said my best bud, Well said!