Tag Archives: Hope

Prayer of Saint Francis

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Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness only light,
And where there’s sadness ever joy.

Oh Master, grant that I may never seek,
So much to be consoled as to console.
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
In giving of ourselves that we receive,
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.

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Cool video by Angelina in Assisi on YouTube.
Another version by Sarah MacLachlan.

MLK Memorial

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. yesterday (10/16/2011). I’m writing about this event since Dr. King has been one of my heroes. He fought for freedom in America and is a symbol of standing up, in a non-violent way, for what is right.

I was surprised to see a sculpture so stubborn, almost angry with crossed arms and a slightly furrowed brow, in a Stone of Hope when I always thought of Dr. King as a beacon of hope, more like a lighthouse or the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy’s Memorial (see Washington Post MLK Memorial picture). I thought I would see something like Dr. King giving the I Have A Dream speech, showing the great orator passionately insisting that each person act, through non-violence, to uphold freedom and justice for all people (see MLK I Have A Dream picture).

Risk

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To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental,

To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self,

To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss,

To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.

Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
And the realist adjusts the sails.

– William Arthur Ward

God’s Promise to Abram (Gen 15)

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Text Summary:

God tells Abram not to fear and promises him as many descendants as the stars and all the lands of modern day Israel. Abram trusts God and sacrifices a few animals. Abram dreams his descendants will be enslaved for 400 years but the enslaving nation will be punished and his descendants will gain great wealth.

My Thoughts:

God’s Promise: God promises Abram many descendants and land.  The perspective is interesting, to be focused on ones lineage instead of just oneself for today.  This perspective drives strong marriages, interest and dedication to educating children, and building long-term family assets instead of borrowing against future generations.  We desperately need this perspective today.

Do Not Fear: From a personal perspective, the key message of this story is not to fear. Trust in God and things will work out – eventually.  We have all had fears since the dawn of time:  fear of not having enough to eat, fear of losing a job and not being able to provide for our family, fear of losing our house, fear that our children will come to harm or not be successful, etc.

Fear can keep you from a fulfilling life by preventing you from simple things like trying new foods or meeting new people.  Fear also causes stress that weakens your immune system and reduces the quality and quantity of life.  In extreme cases, fear can even paralyze a person into total inaction.

Put your mind at ease and trust in God.  It may take time.  Don’t expect things to happen overnight, in weeks, or even months.  Life is not a TV show where the issue is solved in an hour, less commercials if you DVR ;-).

Take little steps towards your goals.  Listen to what is in your heart.  Pray for guidance. Push through the fear and do it anyway.  Your confidence will grow after each little step you overcome.  Do something different today: smile and say “Hi” to someone passing by, sign up for that cooking class you always wanted to take, write down some things you would like to do or accomplish.  It is your life, make the most of it each day!

God be with you.

Noah and the Flood (Gen 6-9)

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Best Known Bedtime Story: Noah and the Flood was probably based on a true story about a tsunami that devastated the Mediterranean around 8,000 years ago (see story), but got better after each telling.  It probably went something like this:

DAD: So, that’s how the great flood covered the earth.
KIDS: Wow!  That was a lot of water.  How did the people survive?
DAD: Uh, this man named Noah was saved with his wife, sons, and their wives.
KIDS: How about all the animals?  Wouldn’t they have all died in the flood?
DAD: Uh, Noah saved them too.
KIDS: How did he do that?
DAD: Let see, he put them on a boat.
KIDS: That boat must have been huge to fit all the animals.
DAD: Yes, it was very large, but it didn’t fit ALL the animals just two of each kind.
KIDS: It must have taken a long time to build.  How did Noah know the flood was coming?
DAD: Well, God told him of course.
KIDS: Why did God do such a bad thing and send the flood?
DAD: He was very angry at the bad people.
KIDS: I’m afraid.  Will God wipe out the world again?
DAD: Don’t be afraid. God said He’d never wipe out the earth again. Okay, it’s time for bed.

Additional:

End Days?: Noah and the Flood brings to mind the two tsunamis in Indonesia (2004) and Japan (2011), hurricanes like Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008), Tornadoes like the ones in Alabama and Joplin, Missouri (2011) and earthquakes like in Haiti (2010).

These events make us wonder if these are the end days?  The answer is “NO”. Earthquakes happen somewhere on the planet every day, hurricanes and tornadoes follow regular season patterns, and tsunamis happen periodically as well (see List of Tsunamis).

The earth has not changed, but we have:

  • Over-population makes all these disasters worse.  With larger population centers in harms way of natural disasters, we will continue to see more damage and loss of lives in the near future, but that does not mean the earth is coming to an end.
  • Sensationalized media coverage is probably the biggest reason we feel like these are the end times.  Fifty years ago, most people never knew when a disaster struck Southeast Asia.  Now it feels like it is happening right next door.  Movies like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 flash the end of the world right before our eyes.
  • Mayan Calendar 2012: The media’s latest fear device is the Mayan calendar that ends in December 2012.  Now many people believe the end of the world will happen on 12/21/12.  My calendar ends December 31st every year and we’re still around each New Year’s Day.  Of course, I’m not as all-knowing as the Mayans who practiced human sacrifices as offerings to their gods thousands of years ago.

Personally, I think this is irresponsible journalism that is bound to get many people killed. Watch, I am sure the number of suicides will increase as we approach December next year.  I just hope nothing worse … manmade … happens.

There is Always Hope: the best message from Noah and the Flood is that there is always hope.  The story tells us not to give up.  Noah, his family, and the animals were stuck on the ark for 150 days.  I can only imagine how they felt when the first dove returned empty-handed (or beaked) as they looked at their dwindling food.  But, with hope they sent out the second dove that returned with the olive branch.  We must always have hope and continue to try in our daily endeavors.