The Unexpected Life: Unexpected Life: Fascinating hope

For many years now, I have been fascinated with "hope" and the power that hope provides people as their lives do not go the way they had hoped or planned that it would. That same hope provides power when their life takes a terrible turn for the worse, or when they have to wait years or even a lifetime to get answers or find meaning to trials that they have yet to understand.I have watched as hope has carried a person from heartbreak, to the optimism of new possibilities.I have been fascinated by a friend who had 15 miscarriages, and remained hopeful time and time again regardless the previous setbacks. I have observed as a friend was caring for her husband with lung cancer, as it was hope that carried them from one experimental drug to another. Though they lost that fight in the end, it was hope that was their motivator and friend.I have also seen many who have lost hope in ever finding a spouse or having a baby, or fixing a broken marriage or after losing a child. The news has been peppered with those who have had severe financial reversals, and committed suicide as their only way out. Hope, or the loss of it, has determined people's actions, their choices, their perspective and their lives.I have often wondered why some peoples hope runs eternal, while others struggle to even keep a glimmer of hope. I am encouraged by Abraham's hope, even as his life didn't seem to be in synch with his promises or expectations. He was promised such a large posterity through Sarah, and yet was initially not able to have children. Finally, after having a son, he was asked to sacrifice him at the altar. Certainly this could not have made sense to him for many reasons, but especially in light of the promise of endless posterity that he was given. He approached the alter willing to sacrifice Issac simply because the Lord had asked him to. His faith was greater than his understanding; therefore, his hope was paramount. As it says in Romans 4:18, in speaking of Abraham, "Who against hope believed in hope..." Certainly he had every reason to lose hope, and yet he didn't.I have often pictured Moroni, wandering alone in the wilderness during the final years of his life, and yet it was at his loneliest time that he spoke so eloquently and knowingly of hope. Wouldn't that be the time that he or any of us would have the least hope, when we are in the wilderness of our lives? I distinctly remember riding the tour bus in Israel, when it pulled over in the Judean wilderness, so that we could walk around and physically experience the wilderness; to get a sense of what it felt like for the Savior to truly be alone. It was deadly silent, no sign of life or growth.As one who has lived a very unexpected life, I have traveled that road more times than I would like to admit. I have certainly had my share of wilderness moments where I felt very alone.Vadav Havel said, "Hope is not prognostication. It is orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart".This quote speaks volumes to me. If we base our hope on what we predict, or in hopes that certain things will happen, then our hope becomes dashed if those things don't happen. When our hope is in Christ, it isn't contingent upon if we get married or stay married, or if we get pregnant or if we become whole again, we still have hope when all else fails. Having hope in Christ is an orientation of the spirit, and an orientation of the heart. Certainly we all hope for many things; we hope that ones health will be restored, or that a friend or family member will live, or that our parents will stay together, or that we find a job, or that we will be included and loved. However, at the end of the day, hope in Christ is what sustains us.Many times in our lives, our hope will be dashed. It will carry us through some of the most difficult times, and then when we do not get the desired results, we may lose it, and for a brief, but seemingly never ending moment we are without hope. It is so painful. It can feel like the life has been taken right out of us. It can leave us breathless, desperately looking for reasons to move forward.However, over time, and sometimes without any further answers or understanding, through our faithfulness and understanding of the Atonement, as our hope turns to Christ, it is once again restored. I have been blessed with hope time and time again. In fact I have come to appreciate it as my greatest blessing. My hope has been dashed many times and then sometimes out of desperation, survival, or an "orientation of the spirit," it soon turns to Christ, and is once again restored. Even though on most of those occasions I still lack the understanding, due to promises and blessings yet to be fulfilled, like Abraham, I have been blessed with hope against hope. I do not pretend to understand all the intricacies of hope, but I know enough to know that it is my greatest blessing. Because of Jesus Christ, my hope is continually restored; oh, how grateful I am for the power of hope!