Glimmers of HOPE in the New Year...

We are not quite at the two week mark of the new year so I think I can I still wish you a very Happy New Year! Hopefully 2011 has started out in a positive way for you!? Today definitely seems like a good day to post a new entry to this blog. There is just something fun or magical about 1-11-11 to me!
As we move into this new year I share with you the above verse that Sr. Joyce Rupp shared with us. I am an Epiphany kind of person and I love this quote, so I made a little Epiphany greeting with stars surrounding the verse - stars and hope ... some of my favorite things to dwell on. Stars that twinkle their light in the beautiful night sky, stars that kept the shepherds company, stars that guided sailors of old as well as guiding the Magi to the Christ child, stars that are for wishing upon! Then there is hope ... one dictionary definition defines hope as "to cherish a desire with anticipation". Aren't there so many things we hope for in life? ...love, happiness, peace in our world, a job for our relative, good health .... How important it is to keep HOPE alive!
What brings you hope? How can you share it?
Before I sign off here I share with you a picture taken the other morning on a rainy day in Portland.... Rain drops hanging onto pine needles. That is a hope symbol for me! I remember many year ago, I was in a bad state of heart and mind and was out walking in the rain "crashing around"- knocking tree branches that happened to get in my way with my fist, thinking I DID NOT care about anything!! I came to an evergreen branch hanging low and laden with rain. I was getting ready to smash that branch when all of a sudden as if someone grabbed my arm and held it in midair, I stopped! I stopped and noticed how delicate a single raindrop was hanging on the tip of the needle ... and it was beautiful! I remember hearing myself say, "I guess I DO care about something!" That moment, that single raindrop became a hope sign for me and helped to change my attitude around - thank goodness! A lesson learned from nature right in line with the Franciscan spirit! Francis was often discovering things in all of creation ... He also is a great model of a person who desired to grow and change. Today I read in my Franciscan Prayer book ~ "Tireless in pursuit of holy newness, Francis constantly hoped to begin again ...(from the life of St. Francis by Thomas of Celano 1C 103)!
So as we begin this new year, consider Sr. Joyce's insightful words and the example of St. Francis ... in pursuit of holy newness ~ how appropriate as we journey into the months ahead that are full of life and possibilities ... Hope comes in little ways...