“Life is often a desert, it is difficult to walk in life, but if we trust in God, it can become beautiful and wide as a highway. Just never lose hope.” Pope Francis
In the past, I used to make a list of resolutions for the New Year. The last year I did that was 2020 when I made 20 resolutions and by March, when the pandemic hit, all those resolutions were thrown out the window. Last year, I made just one, not to waste time, and I was able to accomplish it pretty much most of the year. This year, I also made just one. My resolution for this year is to concentrate on hope.
I got the idea of choosing just one word as my resolution from a little magazine I got in the mail called “Gables Magazine.” I had already decided that this year the main topic for my blog was going to be “hope.” But I turned it into an official resolution when I read the “Publisher Perspectives” who recommends that “instead of creating endless goals and resolutions, choose One Word to be your driving force for the year. No goals. No wish lists. Just one word.”
After I turned “hope” into my driving force for 2022, I keep getting confirmation that I’m on the right track. Three days ago, I was going through all the mail that arrived while we were out of town. The first thing I found was the dreaded “jury duty” notice. My heart dropped. But the next envelope I opened was a Christmas card from Chapman Partnership. And guess what it said on the front:
It got me thinking. I’m upset about the fact that I will have to take time to go serve as a juror, and here’s an organization that takes time to serve our homeless community, sending out a message of hope in their Christmas cards. Needless to say that I got on the computer right away, and registered to perform my civic duty.
Yesterday, I got my second confirmation. I love to read, and I’m constantly buying books that call my attention. I buy them with the hope that I will eventually find the time to read them one day. My bookcase had gotten a bit crowded so I decided to put it in order. As I was separating books that I have read from those that I have not, I found this one:
I got so excited. I don’t even recall if I bought this book or someone gave it to me. I immediately moved it to my nightstand to start reading it. Then I returned to my task, and lo and behold, I found a second copy of the same book. Typical me. It doesn’t surprise me a bit that I probably bought it twice. I don’t need two copies, though, so I will gift the extra copy.
I received my third confirmation just this morning. I was walking on the beach, and I found this beautiful pineapple on the sand:
I know that the pineapple has always been a symbol of hospitality and warmth, which is why Baptist Hospital uses it as its symbol. But I searched on Google to see if there was any correlation between pineapples and hope. I found that the pineapple is a beacon of hope for couples experiencing infertility. I wish I had known that 35 years ago when I myself was dealing with infertility.
I also found this company called “The Honest to God Truth” who “incorporates this Hawaiian local icon in their HOPE design, to show that our hearts are at home with God when we put our hope in Him, Our God is in control and through Him we have HOPE.”
The scripture in the pineapple reads, "May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” -Romans 15:13
Matthew Kelly says in this book that I found “God-incidentally” just sitting on my bookshelf: “We are a people of hope. And our future is even brighter than our past. How will you bring hope to others today?” One thing I’m going to do is pass along the extra copy of the book to the first person that reads this blog and adds a comment either here or on Facebook that says, “I would like to read the book.”
I know now beyond any doubt that HOPE needs to be my only resolution for this year, and that the Holy Spirit will help me bring hope to those that read my blog. I will spend my year being a beacon of hope to others, no matter what this year brings.
What is your “one” word for 2022? Choose just one word and make it your “driving force” this year.
Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
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