There is a silver lining in every cloud, they say. While despair is the unbearable absence of hope, disappointment is hope's much maligned partner. Disappointment reveals our nature, our expectations, and our capacity for hope. Each time a person leaves me dejected, I betray the love I have for them. Behind every underachieving and underwhelming teenager is a hopeful and unreasonably loving parent (and teacher).
Logically, it seems flawed to continue to hope when life so reliably disappoints. But seeing silver in the cloud is more than feckless naivety. My faith teaches me to see the plan behind the cloud (the climate behind the weather, so to speak). This is not only my story. This is the story of all humanity. Seeing a final hope to which all our unmet potential is striving elevates optimism to more than a salvo.
Hope does help us get through the day. It is a crutch. And that is one half of its purpose, unapologetically. But hope is more far-sighted than that and disappointment is our constant reminder of the ability to acknowledge, grieve over, but ultimately see beyond the present circumstance.
Logically, it seems flawed to continue to hope when life so reliably disappoints. But seeing silver in the cloud is more than feckless naivety. My faith teaches me to see the plan behind the cloud (the climate behind the weather, so to speak). This is not only my story. This is the story of all humanity. Seeing a final hope to which all our unmet potential is striving elevates optimism to more than a salvo.
Hope does help us get through the day. It is a crutch. And that is one half of its purpose, unapologetically. But hope is more far-sighted than that and disappointment is our constant reminder of the ability to acknowledge, grieve over, but ultimately see beyond the present circumstance.
I love a line from one of Switchfoot's songs - "Every lament is a love song."
ReplyDeleteAwesome post.