Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Hope- One brick at a Time

Hope is the expectation and desire for something to happen.
Hopeless is feeling of despair.
No one wants to feel hopeless, but sadly the truth is that so many do. Even more devastating is that so many of us are so lost we don't even feel hopeless, we have become numb.
Numb is- deprived of the  power of sensation.
The more I read that definition the deeper it sinks in.
Deprived of the power of sensation.
We have so much hurt that hearts have become numb, unable to feel love, trying to give it. But how when you can't even feel it yourself?
Unable to be filled with joy when you can't even feel it?
Laughter that echos hollowness in the wind.
In the quiet is when it really sinks in, right into your gut.
Wondering how, why, did you end up here.
How much longer.
So many people,so little hope.
A giant brick wall, a fortress seems to be everywhere you turn.
All these bricks calling out to you. Reminding you of all life's cruelty, the unfairness, the hurt, the guilt. Leaving you there at the wall.
What will you do?
Crumble in defeat? Continue to wonder around it?
Will you rise up against it?
Persistence - firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
Persistence is the only way. Take the smallest chisel and start with just one brick.
It may seem like a daunting task, but continue in the face of difficulty.
Celebrate as you knock each brick down one at a time.
As you continue to take down the wall something powerful happens. Each brick brings you a little freedom, and your heart starts to soften, feeling comes back and before you know, hope is being restored within you.
Close your eyes and imagine what it will feel like when you are standing there with the chisel before the wall. Courageous.
Imagine how it will feel when you strike the wall for the first time. Trembling hands.
The second strike on the wall, the sounds echo through the air.
Imagine as the first brick hits the ground.
Don't stop, you're not a quitter.
You gain momentum. Another brick and another.
You pause long enough to wipe the dust from your eyes, salty tears streak down.
Continue.
Your arm is sore, but you keep going , you feel there's no more strength left, but that doesn't stop you. Strike after strike, the ground is rumbling under your feet.
You collapse to the ground and look over your shoulder, what you see leaves you in wonder, the wall is gone, laying there in ruins. As the dust starts to settle in the midst is a tiny blossom coming up,your heart is coming back to life, you feel hope for the first time in so long.
Imagine that tiny tender blossom, let your tears flow into it's soil. Saturate it and watch it grow. Rejoice.
Open your eyes. Can you start to feel it now?
It's never to late, you are never to far gone.
Hope is here, on the other side of that wall.
Pick up your chisel and start and just keep going.
Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1When the Lord restored the fortunes ofa Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.b
2Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
4Restore our fortunes,c Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
5Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.














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