May Hope Never Die

Daily writing prompt

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

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I have always been hopeful, believing that situations will be better in the long term. Hope means expecting positive results, even when the situation looks dire and impossible to fix. When I feel despair, I remember the song that the adults used to sing at church, “There’s a bright side somewhere… Don’t stop until you find it.” The words remind me that God is near and that I will find the bright side where joy resides if I hold on.

When I could not buy milk for my three-month-old baby and food to feed the four children I had adopted, I felt like a failure and a very bad mother. I was in a dark place, and I could see no way to turn the struggle around. Friends and neighbors came to my rescue, but I knew I had to find a long-term solution.

One day when I felt that the storm in my life would never end and my husband at the time wouldn’t do his duty, I questioned God if the darkness would ever go away. I was vacuuming then and stopped to look at the dark clouds in the sky. Suddenly, the clouds parted, and I saw the sun shining above the storm clouds. Suddenly, I knew God was saying to me, “The sun is always shining above the clouds. You just have to wait for the storm to pass, and it always does.”

I knew my hope was not in vain, and within a couple of months, God had opened doors for me. I moved to Atlanta with a five-month-old boy, five dollars in cash, and seven dollars in food stamps. A neighbor friend gave us a ride to Atlanta, and a dear friend who never took children in her boarding house, made an exception for my baby. Mama took custody of my two nieces and nephews until I could send for them. Within a week, I had a job at the telephone company that lasted 23 years!

So, my hope never dies, no matter how difficult life gets for me. Romans 5:5 states, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” I hope in God the Father, Jesus Christ our Savior, and in Holy Spirit, our Comforter. I don’t let hope die. I keep reminding myself that there is a bright side somewhere, and God knows where, so I keep looking to the hills where my help comes from.

Never lose hope, my fellow travelers!