Practice Helps You See Hope in the Chaos
You will see hope when you choose to look for hope. Making the choice to have a hope perspective often proves to be a challenge, particularly in a moment when the world demands you worry and fret.
The more you practice finding your ways to see hope, the easier it becomes despite the noise of the world.
I shared earlier today about an incident several years back. I invested several weeks (with the help of my family) going through everything in our house. If we didn’t love it, use it, or have a way to utilize it, then it was time for it to go.
More than one wedding gift ended up in the pile to let go. Some gifts were still in their original box. We figured that after 15 years, nobody would remember what they had given us.
My husband was in the process of launching his ministry, and so we had set up a trailer at the front corner of the property. I declared this corner to be the best location for a yard sale.
Some thieves broke in later that week and stole many of the items we had wanted to sell. At first, I fretted over the lost income. My husband fumed over the lack of protection at the trailer. We did a lot of “if only” ranting.
The insurance company called while I was driving home with my oldest son from an event. We were covered for the break-in. That meant we would receive replacement cost for all the items stolen (and replacement cost will always be higher than yard sale prices).
My son smiled. “See, we get the money, and we don’t have to have a yard sale. Win all around.”
He made the choice to see hope in the middle of a trying time.
The results of the storm or the chaos in life aren’t always so neatly wrapped up, but there will still be room for hope when you choose to see it.
How to Choose to See Hope
Seeing hope will always be a choice. It’s there. No matter what may be going on. You just have to be willing to see beyond the moment.
- Start now. Look around you and find one positive thing, remember one blessing from the day, or recognize a positive in the world around you. Start with one, and you find that hope continues to build from there.
- See beyond the ordinary. Hope grows in the unexpected, the unusual, and the peculiar. Be alert to things or moments that stand out and then mull on them until you find the hope hidden within.
- Build a habit of hope until hope becomes the default reaction. Get a blank notebook. Every morning write down one thing for which you are grateful. Before you go to sleep at night, write done one more thing from your day that stirs gratitude and hope. The more you practice hope, the more you see hope first.
- Hold tight to hope. When things are so dark you can’t see the light, look to the hope record you’ve created. Having a Hope Book will mean that hope is always within reach.
This world is crazy, even under ordinary circumstances (and we passed ordinary a LONG time back). The cries of doom and gloom come at you from all directions. The more you listen or watch, the more you slide down into the pit of despair.
But hope will break through and make a way into possibility living no matter how dark the circumstances try to appear. When you practice hope, keep a record of hope, and remember hope that has been, you will find that you see hope despite the circumstances around you.
How do you choose to see hope?
Watch #GrowingHOPE on YouTube
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Looking for more ways to See Hope?
Practical Proverbs offers 8 traits for living from the Book of Proverbs.
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