KELSEY GRAHAM | staff writer
Hope. As students, we likely use this word on a daily basis: “I hope I pass this test,” or “I hope my crush is in the library.”
But what exactly does it mean to have hope? Webster’s dictionary says hope means “to desire with expectation of obtainment and to expect with confidence.”
In Oct. 2007, I was diagnosed with cancer, and the meaning of hope became more important than I ever thought possible. I quickly realized that every morning there was a new opportunity to feel hopeful.
Over the year, I have seen the impact that the hope of others has had on my faith and my journey.
As a Christian with a new battle that gave such significance to this common word, I became interested and passionate to know more about the power of hope and the impact it could have on not only my life, but also on the lives of those around me.
I realized that hope is something that can be found and achieved. It can be seen in close friends or even in a smile from someone you barely know. It can be found in the faith of others and in the little everyday things in life we often overlook.
I believe we can find hope in others, and others can find hope in us.
The hope I found in others inspired me to see God’s promises through my experience with cancer.
The I.C.H.O.P.E. lecture on CDL by graduate student Michelle Becker, RN, appeals to me because it’s about how to be a Godly influence on others by being “In Christ Holding Onto His Promises Everyday” (I.C.H.O.P.E.).
It has been said that when the world says give up, hope whispers, “Try one more time.”
The Bible has so many hope-filled promises that are activated by faith. Good things happen when we rejoice and live in the expectation of God’s favor on a regular basis.
How would our lives change if we raised our expectancy and spent more time delighting in the hope found in God’s glory all around us?
What if everyone slowed down, listened to the music of life and cherished the hope that can be found in every line of its song?
I have seen the power of hope in my own life. It is hope that makes us hold on when we could let go.
There is a distinction between people who have hope on the surface and those who have it deep inside.
Choosing hope means holding on to God’s promises every day and impacting the lives of others.
How many lives have you impacted today, this week or this month? How many lives have impacted you?
The power of hope and possibilities it brings are given by God through faith. It is up to us to take every opportunity hope brings.
