Hope Remained

Cerulean Warbler, Photograph by Wil Hershberge,
Nationalgeographic.com

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

Emily Dickinson, The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)

 To Emily Dickinson, hope was like a bird that "perches" within us and keeps us warm despite the problems and "storms" all around us. In Greek mythology, hope was the last thing Pandora (the first human woman, created by the gods) found in the jar (or what we think of now as a box) that was given to her as a wedding present. She was instructed not to open the jar, but naturally opened it anyway subsequently unleashing all evil which spread throughout the earth. But there at the bottom of the jar, hope remained.

I think it is safe to say that hope is a universal concept--something everyone has felt at some point in their lives; but it is a concept that has always been hard for me to wrap my brain around, especially the times in my life when I have felt hopelessness or despair. But writers and cultures and scripture promise that hope is something that is always there if we reach out for it. And that if we have hope, we will be happy (Proverbs 10:28) and when our hope is grounded in the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it will be an anchor (Ether 12:4) and protection (1 Thes. 5:8) to us--and a motivation for us to keep doing what Heavenly Father asks, even when it doesn't always make sense in the moment. (like Abraham who "against hope believed in hope" as explained in Romans 4:18-21.)

I didn't really understand how hope could play such a vital role in our lives until I had an experience in a class while I was working at a University. I had already completed my Bachelor's degree and was working full-time for the University, but I decided to take a few classes related to some of my current interests. After reviewing the work I did for one of my classes, the professor took me aside and told me something like "I think you have a talent for this, Elin" and he told me I should apply to a graduate program related to the subject we were studying. That is all he said, but for some reason, it changed my entire perspective about myself and my capabilities and my future. I had faith in the professor's opinion because he had been studying and teaching the subject for years...it was a huge part of his life. And so those few words that he said to me gave me more hope in my own abilities and work beyond what merely believing in myself could do. (Don't get me wrong...Belief in self is absolutely necessary too!)

That experience opened up to me the kind of hope that faith in God and his messages to His children can do for me and I can see how that kind of hope can move a person forward, even in the darkest times. (For more on hope, this talk is wonderful.)

-Elin

Who really wants to eat an entire jar of candy corn at this very moment....disgusting, right?