When I was in college I took a few religion courses from a professor that challenged and changed many of my opinions and ideals. She once told us a story about a conversation she’d had with some friends concerning children. Her friends mentioned that they’d like to have kids soon and she asked them why. They rattled off answers like, “I want to be a mom/dad” and “It seems like the next logical step”, but she kept pushing them. Why do you want children? What makes you want to bring kids into this world?

She told us that she believes the correct answer is “hope.” You want to bring children into this screwy society because you have hope for the future.

If I’m being 100% honest I’m not feeling very hopeful right now, but rather discouraged. I’m discouraged that we have a maniac running for the presidency. I’m discouraged that a night of dancing and fun can lead to mass murder and heartbreak. I’m discouraged that my sex is seen as lesser in the eyes of many (including the law sometimes). I find it very, very hard to see past these things. I half wonder if God would like to flood the Earth again.

I have a very bleak outlook this week.

That said, I know that there’s hope out there. It’s standing in line at the blood banks, offering up a vein for those who need the extra sustenance. It’s sitting in the pews, praying for families and victims. It’s marching down the street, holding hands and waving flags and chanting together- without fear or shame. It’s in the extra text messages and phone calls being made this week to loved ones or friends that haven’t been spoken to in weeks. I know that it’s there. I know it.

“You don’t get to choose whether or not terrible things happen to good people in this world, but you do get to choose who you hold at night, so hold them tight.” -Aubrey Johansen

“We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” -Jeremiah 29:11

“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” -Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

No comments today. Go spread some hope & love to some other folks. Emily shares similar thoughts.