Awakening Hope

Even if you are not ready for day
it cannot always be night.
--Gwendolyn Brooks

Where I live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, sunrise can be spectacular. The fingers of early morning crawl across the eastern plains, gradually illuminating the city skyline, and increasing in brightness to reveal—like footlights on a stage—the splendor of the majestic snow-capped Pikes Peak. You can almost hear the Director signaling His creation, “Cue the morning; let a new day begin!”

The sun bids the darkness farewell, and the earth awakens. It is a fresh start in your Heart Land as well, as your residual breakup pain fade and hope wakes up. Heartache is turning to healing.

At the break of day, birds chirp cheerily, the alarm rings (not so cheerily), and sunlight streams through your bedroom window announcing the arrival of morning. The aroma of fresh coffee or hot tea beckons.

But for some people it’s hard to get up and get going. It this half asleep-but-not-yet-awake stage, they rouse and stir a bit, yawn and stretch, and then roll over and go back to sleep. They don’t want to get up yet. It’s too early, or they’re too tired, or they simply have no motivation to get out of bed. Perhaps they want to hold on to the last vestiges of night and linger in the darkness.

Others, bless their “I’m a morning person” heart, are exuberant at the crack of dawn. They spring from slumber to waking with the lively energy of Winnie the Pooh’s friend Tigger, full of bounce and ready to start the day.

Either way, getting out of bed is a choice. Just as having hope is a choice. You can choose to stay asleep in the darkness of bitterness, resentment, and hopelessness. With the curtains closed tightly, and no light penetrating your heart, you wallow and mope, and keep moping.

Or instead, you could choose to follow the way of hope, and keep hoping, choosing to move forward into the full light of day—into the fullness of the abundant life of greater peace, joy and wholeness.

The outcome of each path is entirely different.

PRAYER: Here’s a prayer for you to read to yourself or out loud as you talk to God about how you’re feeling: Lord, I need more hope in my life. I need more of You. I feel like I’ve been asleep, dead to the world and dead in my heart. Would you help me to let go of discouragement and depression in my life? I don’t want to be like this anymore. I want to run to the feet of Jesus and find comfort, strength, and deeper character. Thank you for showing me that, in your loving sovereignty You direct and redirect my life. You have new things for me, good things. Help me to look forward with faith. Enlighten my heart to see your faithfulness--all you’ve done for me in the past, and all you are doing now on this road from breakup to better days. I put my trust in You. In Jesus’Name, Amen.