A Soft Place to Land

The world is on fire.

Wars rage. 

Politicians wax ineloquent. 

Gas and food costs are rising.

Who can afford to buy a house or renovate a house?

Our hearts break on a daily basis. 

What are we to do? 

In times like these, we need to be reminded of who we are.

Let me speak for myself: I need to remind myself of who I am.

I am a person who still believes in the power of love. 

I believe in the goodness of God.

I believe that most people want all people to thrive - to have a place to live, enough to eat, and a world in which they can live, breathe, and move without fear lurking at every corner. 

And more than just about anything else, I also believe in hope. 

Not the “pie in the sky” kind of hope.

Not the “somewhere over the rainbow” kind of hope.

Not the “in the sweet by and by” kind of hope.

I believe in the kind of hope that maintains and sustains.

I believe in the kind of hope that gets us up in the morning, gets us ready for work, gets our children ready for school, and gets us excited to do our part so that others can live, breathe, eat, laugh, and experience safety.  That’s Nevertheless, HOPE.

I believe in the kind of hope that contributes three cans of tuna fish to food drives, $5 to refugee support programs, and fifteen minutes to voter registration call campaigns. That’s Nevertheless, HOPE.

I believe in the kind of hope that sends letters to politicians on the other side of the aisle, that prays for the ICE agents waiting outside the local immigration courtroom, that listens to the stories of those who have been crushed by the weight of injustice, and stands in line on cold November days to vote. That’s Nevertheless, HOPE. 

I believe in the kind of hope that defies logic; it just holds on. I believe in the kind of hope that refuses to defend itself; it just holds on.I believe in the kind of hope that makes no sense at all; it just holds on. 

I believe in the kind of hope that knows that it knows that it knows - and it just holds on. 

Nevertheless, HOPE is the kind of hope that refuses to give up, to give in, to give over to the waves of despair that seek to quench its small, but fierce flame. 

Nevertheless, HOPE is the kind of hope that offers our thirsty souls life-giving water in the dryest of droughts. 

Nevertheless, HOPE is the kind of hope that provides us with a soft place to land in the middle of the rockiest terrain. 

Nevertheless, HOPE is the kind of hope that we all need these days. And everyday. 

Nevertheless, HOPE is the kind of hope that I invite you to explore with me. 

Because no matter what you say, no matter what anyone says, no matter what comes my way, this is my story. This is my song. I'm living a Nevertheless kind of HOPE - all the day long.  

Journaling Prompts

1. What kind of hope do you believe in? What kind of hope has brought you thus far on the way?

2. When have you been asked to explain or justify your persistent hope? Did you attempt to explain or justify your hope?

3. When hope has wavered in your life, what have you done to revive or regenerate it? Do you need to employ any of those practices today?