Hope Against Hope

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” Dale Carnegie 

If these past two years have taught us anything is to hope against hope. What does that mean exactly? To hope against hope means not to lose hope even when it seems impossible that what you are hoping for will actually happen. 

Here’s a recent example that I personally experienced. I received a jury duty notice. I was hoping against all hope that I would not have to go to the courthouse. I knew it was a long shot, and that the best I could hope for was to go and not get selected. But I still hoped against hope that I would be dismissed without having to show up. And it happened. On Friday I was told that I had to check my email every day after 5 pm to see if I had to report the following day. On Monday, I received a text message that I was dismissed. Yay!!!

We are called to hope against hope when we get tested. When we are experiencing difficult times or we find ourselves in the midst of suffering, we have to hold on to our hope. Hope is the ultimate medicine. When hope dies, it’s like someone stabbed you in the heart. It feels as if you are drowning. That’s why we must never give up on hope, even when it all just seems hopeless. 

The best solution for me when I feel that my hope is starting to dwindle is prayer. Prayer is like coffee for my soul. I pray and I get a shot of hope. This shot of hope to my soul is critical to my life because without it, I know I would succumb to sadness and depression. Hope helps me to believe in a brighter future. 

When you feel your soul empty, turn to prayer. Ask God to fill your soul with hope. We are all God’s beloved sons and daughters, and He will replenish our soul with hope. God knows that hope is good and essential for the soul.

Hope is like a cup of coffee that needs to be constantly refilled. We need to replenish our soul with hope over and over again. And when it all seems hopeless, we need to hope against hope, especially when it seems impossible that what we are hoping for will actually happen. 

Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

What is Hope?

Hope is like the first flowers in spring.

Hope is like a feather dancing in the wind.

Hope is finding a four-leaf clover amongst thousands of three-leaf clovers. 

Hope is like a kite flying high in the sky.

Hope is watching a rainbow after a storm. 

Hope is like the waves breaking against the rocks. 

Hope is holding hands with the one you love. 

Hope is watching a baby smile for the first time. 

Hope makes you feel you are flying.

Hope sends our hearts racing.

Hope is like the elixir of life.

Hope gives us purpose.

Hope is faith in action. 

Every yes to Jesus is a bud of hope. 

Hope is believing in God when everything else is crumbling. 

On the other side of hope, lies despair, so today, pour yourself a generous glass of hope.

Follow Your Dreams

“You cannot live without dreams. Dreams foster hope, and hope is one of the forces by which men and women live.” Matthew Kelly

I have always been a dreamer. Not only do I dream the weirdest things while I sleep, but I also love to daydream. When I was little, Madre Josefa, the nun that was my second grade teacher, used to tell my mom that I spent more time in “la Luna de Valencia” (Valencia’s moon) than in the classroom. I always wondered why Valencia’s moon was different than Madrid’s moon. Now I know that Valencia’s moon is known in the USA as “La La Land.” And yes, I still spend a lot of time in La La Land.

When I close my eyes, I can dream that I live in a world where there is no pain or suffering. Matthew Kelly explains it best: “To dream is the easiest thing in the world. There are no limitations to dreaming.” I can dream that I’m in Spain walking down “La Gran Via” or that I’m in Paris watching the Eiffel Tower or in the Amalfi Coast enjoying its magnificent views. When I dream, I can transport myself to any place in the world. Dreams helps me to hope that one day things will return to normal and I’ll be able to visit those places for real.

Unfortunately, many people think that dreaming is only for children. As we get older, and the reality of life catches up with us, we stop dreaming. And we don’t realize that we cannot live without dreams. If we are faced with a physical illness, and this causes us to stop dreaming, we will also lose hope that we can be cured. If we dream of achieving a goal, and we lose hope at the first sign of failure, we will never reach the goal. If we receive a disappointing news, and we fall into despair, we should not push aside our dreams because this will only push us further into a state of hopelessness. It’s good to allow the inner child in all of us to dream. 

Every great discovery started out as a dream. In fact, the greatest thinkers, scientists, artists, visionaries, and leaders throughout history were ordinary people like you and me, who happened to be dreamers. Walt Disney had a dream to build a theme park. In 1955 he fulfilled his dream with these words: “Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America … with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” Today there are twelve Disney theme parks worldwide. Thomas Edison credited his discovery of electricity to his dreams. Our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, attributed the writing of the Declaration of Independence to their dreams. Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity began as a dream. The Twilight series was dreamed by stay-at-home-mom, Stephenie Meyer. Who knows, maybe while in La La Land I’ll dream of the next bestseller. 

The Bible is also full of dreamers. Joseph is the most famous. His brothers didn’t appreciate his dreams because he would see them bowing down to him in his dreams so they sold him into slavery. But eventually, his dreams became a reality when he became the governor of all of Egypt. Daniel also had many dreams and visions, mostly related to future kingdoms of the world and the nation of Israel. God spoke to many Bible characters through dreams: Abraham, Jacob, Samuel, Solomon, Zacharias (the father of John the Baptist), Joseph (Jesus’ earthly father), Peter, Paul and John. This teaches us how important is to dream and that we should never make fun of other people’s dreams, no matter how absurd they may seem. 

I hope that as you read this, you can close your eyes and spend five minutes daydreaming. Imagine yourself in your favorite place. Let hope be your guide as you travel through La La Land. Follow your dreams, and let them carry you wherever they wish. And who knows, you may hear God’s voice speak to you through your dreams. 

Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

My One Word Resolution for 2022: Hope

“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.

Opening Our Hearts to New Possibilities

 “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” Christopher Reeve 

When my daughter told me fifteen months ago that she was considering moving to Charlotte in North Carolina, I didn’t believe her. After all, this was my Miami girl. When we went to visit colleges for her older brother, she told me that she was not going away to college. She had no intention of living in the snow. She loved Miami, its Cuban culture, its weather, its people, and pretty much everything that Miami has to offer. Therefore, I never envisioned her leaving the city. She proved me wrong. Six months ago, she moved to Charlotte. Even though I was not happy because she was going to be 700 miles away from me, I was proud of her because she opened her heart to new possibilities.

Hope opens up our hearts to new possibilities. My family left their home country over 50 years ago because they had hope that they would find a better life elsewhere. It was that same hope that led my grandparents from Spain to Cuba in the 1920s. Hope also moved the Magi to leave their home country and follow a star in search of baby Jesus. 

I can understand why my grandparents left Spain. They had hope to find jobs and a better future in the Americas. My parents left Cuba with the hope to live in a free country. My daughter left Miami with the hope to be able to buy her first home at an affordable price. But what would move three men from the East to follow a star in search of an infant that had been promised to the people of Israel when they themselves were not Israelites?

This past Sunday, the priest shared in his homily that Christians started observing the feast of the Epiphany during the third century. At the time, only Easter was celebrated. Christmas did not become an official celebration until the end of the fourth century. The reason why Epiphany was so important in the early Christian church was because it represented the day that Jesus revealed Himself not just to the Israelites but also to the Gentiles. The Wise Men represented the Gentiles. In order for them to make this long trek, they must have been hopeful that this newborn baby was going to save not just the Israelites but the whole world. They opened up their hearts to this possibility, and they followed the star in order to worship the King of the Jews. 

As we start this new year, we can learn a lot from the Magi. They are known as the Wise Men because they were wise. They had studied and they knew what the prophets had foretold about the promise of a savior being born in Bethlehem. They were hopeful that this savior would come not just to save Israel but to redeem the whole world. So they traveled for days to worship Him. And they brought gifts with them, not cheap gifts that they bought on the way but treasures from their homelands. They had hope in their hearts that this Baby Boy was the biggest treasure of all, and they sought Him. They opened up their hearts to Him and now, we commemorate this event every year as the feast of the Epiphany. 

As we start this new year, let us imitate the Wise Men by opening our hearts to new possibilities. It may be moving to a new city, changing jobs or signing up for a Bible lesson. And as we take that first step with a new hope blooming in our hearts, we should ask God to guide us into making the right decision. The Magi did not set out in search of the newborn King on their own. God guided them in the entire journey. If we ask God for His help, He will guide us too.

We spent Christmas in Charlotte with my daughter, and I realized that she is no longer a Miami girl. She is now a Charlotte girl through and through. She has joined a book club where she has met other young ladies that have recently moved to Charlotte just like her. She found the cutest house in a quiet residential area. She has great neighbors that give her cookies for Christmas. She pulled her younger brother to Charlotte so now she has family nearby. She opened her heart to new possibilities with the hope that things would work out, and she is thriving. Even though I miss her tremendously, I am proud of her because she took the leap. I need to learn from her and open up my heart to see what new possibilities God has in store for me.

Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

Hope Makes Life Possible

I was looking back at my blog, and 2021 is the year with the least amount of posts. The main reason being that I was concentrating on finishing my book, and I was told that I could not post it on my blog if I was going to try to publish it. Therefore, I wrote, but did not share. 

Now that my book is finished, I am back with renewed hope and inspiration. Hope will be the theme for this year’s posts. Hope, because after the last two years, we all need a big dose of hope. Hope, because we all hope for an end to the pandemic. Hope that this year brings us peace, health, joy, happiness and the sense of normalcy that we seem to have lost. 

As we enter into 2022, I wish each and everyone of you that follows my blog a year filled with hope. And no matter what happens this year, good or bad, don’t let go of hope. Even though hope doesn’t make life easier, it certainly makes life possible. Where would we be if we lost our hope?

I find my hope in God. Where do you find yours?

Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.