Anchor of Hope

“All of us experience, to a greater or lesser extent, a loneliness that results from not having enough anchors, enough absolutes, and enough permanent roots to make us feel secure and stable in a world characterized by transience.”― Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart

Blessing when you need a little hope

“These days feel heavy and dark,
like hope packed up and left,
and forgot to send a postcard.
We cry: Where are the good things?
And honestly, where are the good people—
the sensible ones
fighting for what matters?
Why does it feel like bad stuff
always elbows its way to the front,
pushing everything good to the sidelines?
We’re tired. Exhausted, really.
Desperation is knocking,
and it’s tempting to surrender.

Blessed are you,
who see the world as it is:
the sickness and loneliness,
the injustice that never seems to end,
the greed and misuse of power,
the violence and intimidation,
the mockery of truth,
and disdain for weakness,
and worse—
the seeming powerlessness
of anyone trying to stop it.

Blessed are you,
worn down by hard-earned cynicism,
running on fumes,
with no promise of a destination.

Maybe hope isn’t so distant.
Maybe it’s there—small, persistent, and stubborn.
May you grasp something
in the heaviness.
A glimmer of what could be,
and walk, step by step,
toward the possibility that goodness exists.
Hope is an anchor dropped into the future
pulling you forward,
toward something better—
even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.”

– Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

In 1999, I found out I had melanoma on Ash Wednesday
And by Easter, all clear
Some don’t get that short a trip through cancer or other diagnosis, but I did
Lent had an even deeper meaning that year
Journeys we don’t choose but choose us
Some of our struggles are chronic
Some are broken or frayed relationships
Some loneliness
The grief, and growth if we allow, from all of the deaths before death
The alignment of Lent and the world right now
Again, not unnoticed
How the hell did we get here?
What is underneath all of this?
Where will I/we end up?
Will the struggle end?
What should I do?
Good questions with answers that so often only unfold only by walking out it out
Spring, Resurrection comes only by going through winter, the ashes, the desert
Not the pep talk most want to hear
We frantically look for short cuts, hacks, others to blame
Whatever journey you are on, one step, one day at a time
Lent’s invitation is one of pause
Reflection
Slowing
Withdraw
Quiet
Rest
Wandering
Listening
Shedding
Forgiving
Rending
Healing
Discernment, direction, clarity down the road
40 days in the desert, feeling like years
No shortcuts but brimming with small, persistent, stubborn hope
An anchor dropped into the future pulling us forward
Easter coming, walk it out.

“Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery”― Anne Frank