There is always hope
We have good days, we have bad days, and then we have days in between. It has been my experience that most of life happens in the “in-between” days. We all hope for many good days and deal with the reality that our bad days might outweigh our good ones. However, we cannot live in the extremes of the pendulum.
But I hope for good days. I do my best to survive the bad ones. The in-between days just seem to pass me by as I move forward. I have realized that I do not appreciate them. I do not place enough value on having “normal” days. Perhaps I have lifted what I deem to be good days too highly. No doubt, I have relegated the bad ones as the worst of scenarios.
It is interesting to note how we are confronted with who we are in the bad days. It is the bad days that shows us where we are lacking. After all, what is a bad day? Is it not a situation where life demands something of you that you are not able to give? It could be love, patience, kindness, mercy, patience, etc. Perhaps it is a tragedy, and you are ill-equipped to handle it.
What is a bad day then but merely opportunities for us to better look at ourselves and see the chance of growth? It is a chance, not a guarantee. Only seeing where you are lacking is worthless unless you have the resolve to grow and become better than you were a moment ago. This is not pie in the sky talk. I am not advocating some mystical self-revelatory experience. Instead, I am talking about life.
Real-life equals growth. Are you growing? No one likes doing anything about self-improvement. It is one thing to talk about it. Doing what needs to be done to become better and find less and less bad days takes a lot of work. Sometimes it can seem like too much work. Before we know it, we merely hope that we have good days and that the bad ones are heading towards someone else. We neglect to enjoy life in the here and now. Taking pleasure in the simple things is a concept that eludes many.
I get it, I do. It is so easy to talk about this. When life hits you right in the nose, lofty ideals tend to fall by the wayside. What do you do if you are dealing with a terminal illness? You just lost your job – show me what taking pleasure looks like? Depression is on you like a thick blanket – now what? You have a child born with a dangerous and life-altering condition, and someone is telling you to “take pleasure” in simple things. I understand. The bad days can feel like you are drowning in the ocean.
What do we do when having the right attitude changes nothing? Hoping for the best will get you nowhere. There, I said it. Hoping for good days means nothing. Any hope will fail us – unless it is placed in Christ. You will always be disappointed unless your hope is firmly grasped in the goodness and will of God. I choose to hope for good days because I know that God is a good and loving father. I can take pleasure in the simple things because of God.
The moment we remove God from the equation, we enter into a world where bad days outweigh good ones. Your efforts will not succeed. There is no happy ending at the end of the journey when God is not that journey. Do not be fooled. Unless you hope in God, you will not know life. I do not know about you, but I do not want to live a life where hope “might” help me. Who would choose that? No. I choose to live a life where hope in God never fails. There is always hope in God. Always.
So what then about good days, bad days, and the in-between ones? We will always have opportunities to grow and become better. To that end, the bad days will continue to come. With God alone can we see them as opportunities. When we begin doing that, we start to catch a glimpse of something new. We begin to see that a life filled with hope can be the regular days. The good and the bad ones will melt away and what will be left are days of hope that never runs dry.
Imagine, just for a moment, that this is your life. It can be.