May 16, 2026 Reflection

Intention: I am choosing hope over despair.

“To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.”

Raymond Williams

Hope is casually tossed around in conversation, and I’ve struggled to define what hope truly means. When we were younger, we hoped for a puppy or hoped Mom and Dad would be sleeping as we crept in after curfew. As adults, we hope for success, health, and security among many others. For me, hoping mirrored wishing. Hoping was flimsy and as elusive as a child chasing a butterfly. So while I have been working on choosing hope over despair, I dug into discovering the strength in hoping.

How often have our inner dialogue fallen into the cavernous What If pit? What If I miss my plane? What If my health fails? What If I don’t get the promotion? What Ifs are snares trapping our desires. Our despairing inner dialogue has implications on what will happen. Marcus Aurelius said that, “Our life is what our thoughts make it,” so let’s try flipping the aforementioned scenarios. What if your flight is early, what if you run a marathon, and what if you are awarded a promotion plus stock options?

Dr. Wayne Dyer wrote that hope is, “... a feeling of optimism. A thought that says things will improve....There’s a way to rise above the present circumstances.” No matter what is happening today, or what might or might not happen tomorrow, hope is our anchor. Hope tethers us to faith, and Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith in what we cannot see, taste, our touch, but a belief, a hope, that our lives will be enriched by the trials we experience. Although we will grieve great losses, Romans 12:12 reminds us to “rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, and persevere in prayer.”

Between reciting the Our Father and the sign of peace at Mass, the priest prays that we are to "wait in joyful hope." Joyful hope, confident expectations in what we cannot comprehend but rather choosing to see good in even the most trying circumstances.

Hope is not as elusive as I once thought.

As 2026 continues, I am choosing:

I am choosing hope over despair.

I am choosing faith over fear.

I am choosing miracles over coincidence.

I am choosing love over loss.

I am choosing light over darkness.

StoryLight Transforming Pain Into Purpose Sharon M Wible

May 16, 2026 Reflection

This website uses cookies.