“Where Can I Find Hope Today?” (part 3)
A colleague pleaded with me on a call this week, “Where can I find hope today?” We had been talking about the most recent tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo, the sad and senseless war in Ukraine, the breakdown of our politics, the lost faith among our fellow Americans. Last night, I watched the Jan. 6 hearing, stunned and angry. Maybe you too feel overwhelmed by what is happening around us? Just go to any news source—everything is so intensely negative, even scary.
So, where can one find hope?
I find hope in the work of people like Fran Bridges and Andy Frame, from Jackson, MS, who against all odds toil every day in their local neighborhoods to bring people together to fight blight and make their streets safer.
I find hope in a national evangelical leader who, in a new, brave book, calls for churches to stop choosing political sides and to focus on repairing a broken world.
I find hope in a Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate who, in losing, discovered all the good and important work people in local communities are doing. She said, “Having the chance to see that good work up close left me with a profound understanding of our resilience…and our capacity…That brought me hope.”
I find hope in a mother I met in Clarksville, TN, who brought her first-grader, DJ, to a convening to talk about how to move her community forward because she felt the conversation was so important to his future.
I find hope in the people of Reading, PA, and Alamance County, NC, who, in the face of hate and discrimination and lack of opportunity for so many, are determined to build bridges across divides and create a greater sense of shared purpose in their communities.
I could go on, forever.
But there are days when I wake up with a heavy heart. On those days, I pause for a moment, and I expressly think about where I find hope. I remind myself of stories like these. I remind myself of how this nation has continually fought to create a more perfect union, and the fact that so many efforts began in our local communities, only to spread nationally. I remind myself of my deep, abiding faith. I remind myself of confronting my own personal challenges.
In times like these, what can you remind yourself of—where can you find hope? I know so many of us are tired. I know you may feel depleted, even defeated, at times. I know the negative news can feel endless, suffocating. But there is always hope.
I find hope from the teaching that if you save one life, you save the world. In other words, every contribution counts, however big or small.
I find hope by believing that, as an individual, I am not whole without being part of something larger than myself. I find hope in hearing a call that we must repair breaches in our society. I find hope in seeing young DJ’s face.
Yes, we are all tired. Perhaps frustrated. Maybe enraged. I am not asking you to give up these emotions; embrace them. But as you do, ask yourself: Where do I find hope, and how can I embrace that, too.
Don’t give up, or give in. In tough times, we need agents of hope. We need you.