h(O)pe – Open Up

“Weather the storm.”  How many of us have heard this cliché and now find ourselves having to do just that … weather the storm, anxiously waiting for it to pass.  How we each embrace this unimaginable time in human history is on display daily?  We are witnesses most poignantly to the vicissitudes of human nature -courage, fear, strength, instability - endless examples of human response to what is unknown.  As we continue to deal with the disruption the events of late have brought, I ask you this morning to take a moment in all this to observe nature. 

Each day the ground around us is sprouting, the tips of daffodils, the buds of leaves, the sprouts from vegetable seeds. Watch, as over the next few weeks, nature opens up to the world soaked in the sun, drenched in the rain, revealing petals regardless of what is to come.  Nature is demonstrating the bounty of opening up despite events.  As time passes, we will witness continual change in the landscape of nature.  All a result of daring to open to what might happen.

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We each face times in our lives when what step to take next is more uncertain than we would like.  When life seems unsolvable, those around us offer suggestions that appear too risky as we search for a way of moving forward.  So, we remain stuck, closed.  

All closed in on yourself, what can you see?  Two things - Yourself and darkness.  The more you close in, the darker it gets, the smaller you get.  Do you notice buds that remain tight, their colors, their potential barely showing?  Over time if they continue to remain small, they fall to the ground, all their potential lost.  Possible ways forward, opportunities showing themselves, are only possible when you look out and dare to remain open.

So, you have read this far.  Thank you.  I hope you can see how opening up is a key characteristic of hope.  It lets in the light of thought and observation that give you a vista of possibilities that make taking a chance of value … for you.

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