“Hope.”

Kind of an overused phrase these days, isn’t it? It’s like going to the same amusement park 30 days in a row. By the 5th day, you’ve been on all the rides, and have won all the carnival animals and fish you can handle. What gives you hope? I’m talking about the real kind. The thoughts that your family could actually have a home some day, with lots of acres and bees and llamas and goats? The aspiration to become President of the United States? Obviously some see that as a means to bring hope, and I am one of the millions who dream of a leader that is capable of instilling hope in the hearts of a country, uniting us as a nation. Some people are hoping for a spouse, a child, a place to rest their head tonight with a decent meal. A lot of people are hoping their 401k’s will still be there when they need them!

What do I hope for, you ask?

A chance at making this world a better place. How am I going to accomplish that insurmountable task? Through this:

This wonderful little boy is gifted with the potential to impact those around him by simply being a loving man someday. All I have to do now is teach him how to love.

So what gives me hope?

Living in this place, knowing I have a safe atmosphere to raise a family:

Having wonderful friends who share their lives with us:

Knowing that the life I choose to search after has purpose and promise:

“The spiritual life is a continual discovery of God in new and unexpected places. These discoveries are sometimes most profitable when we find him in something we had tended to overlook and even despise. Then the awakening is purer and its effect more keen, because he was so close at hand and we neglected him.”          ~Thomas Merton

My hope is found today in the promise of searching for God in places unexpected, and passing that love onto my son.

Have a great Saturday. We are going to the pumpkin patch!