Today, I woke with the word Hope.
Not in the concept of a name (I know people called Hope), or a place (Hope, Alaska), or even with a clear definition of the word (a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen).
No. I woke with a feeling in my soul that gives me comfort to know that something I wished to occur is about to happen. It’s probably the same feeling that people feel when they buy the “winning” lottery ticket!
I identified this feeling as “hope”. It’s this feeling of expectation for a certain thing to happen. It’s that “desire” that I feel that something expected is about to occur. With a haunting certainty.
Part of this feeling comes from a history of seeing expected events coming about. Part of it comes from wishing really hard!
Job penned a few words about hope that I love to read and imagine the result.
For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. (Job 14:7-9 NKJV)
The Hope for a tree. Certain trees sprout from the roots left behind after it is cut down. Not all trees have this ability, but if it is possible, then simply providing the scent of water will cause the tree to sprout and grow as it did once before. In a land where trees and water are scarce, its important to nurture the environment to encourage a tree to grow again.
Most trees live only when there is proper water supply. Each type of tree has different requirements. Notice the trees in the background of this picture. There must be a source of water that allows them to be nurtured to full growth. Now, notice the tree in the forefront. Standing alone. Surrounded by rocks and dirt. No evidence of a water source that would feed it life continuing moisture. But somehow, it gets what it needs in order to grow.
Think about that. Some trees that come down have the ability to spring back up. All it takes are proper conditions. That is the root of all success. Conditioning. Preparing for success and blessing. It’s not luck, it’s hard work. It’s not by accident, but by perseverance.
I live in the Pacific NW. On the western side of the Cascade mountain range, we are blessed with an abundance of trees. It’s cooler. The soil is more conducive to producing trees that reach to the sky. But it’s rocky underneath. Roots do not go as deep as expected, they spread out laterally. When the ground is overly wet from the winter rains, a wind storm blows them over pretty easily. Just like tree farms, most of the trees will not spring back from the broken root system. It takes someone, or nature, replanting a seedling to reforest.
Have you ever had to rebuild your world? Something unexpected happens, and like a tree you are removed from that once successful place. You begin over anew with hard work and perseverance – new training, new career, new locale. It takes a lot of dedication for that persons world to improve. To spring back. I’ve done it several times.
How about you? Are you hoping for something? If so, what have you done to prepare for its occurrence? You are probably to root to your own success... Hope generates work and that creates an environment of success. I hope….