Hope

I realize that I haven't been posting a whole lot lately on my blog. It occurs to me that I've maybe been doing more running than writing. ha Actually, I've been writing, but just not on my blog. :-) Anyway, I'm going to try to do a little better about posting more. Hopefully that doesn't mean I will be running less.... I'm still trying to get myself ready for that crazy hill in the Cotton Row 10K!

So what was on my mind today was a research paper that Mackenzie just had to turn in for her English class. It was, of course, due on the same day that her major History project was due (yesterday) -- so that made for a really fun weekend of work for her. (not!) My part in all of this was the proof reading of the paper, and I thought I'd share some of it with you because I really liked some of the things she had to say. The title of her paper was "Hope" and it was written about an Emily Dickinson poem called "Hope is the Thing With Feathers."

'Hope' is the Thing With Feathers
by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

"The themes of nature and identity personify the meaning of hope through a bird. Birds are known to be encouraging, loud when necessary, and territorial when it comes to protecting their eggs. In that same way, hope is encouraging to people by showing someone a brighter future. Hope can be loud through the storms and trials, but only when need be. Hope can also be territorial. It may seem strange, but hope protects its space in the soul. It won’t let other hurtful emotions push it into the shadows of the soul. Hope is a universal symbol for making the world a better place. If there is hope then there is something to look forward to. It keeps a person optimistic and open-minded, which keeps the world going when it seems like there is nowhere to go. Emily Dickinson could easily relate to the trials and tribulations of life, and needing the reassurance of hope in her life. In the midst of those tragedies, it seems that her poetry is what kept her going. That and the hope that she kept alive in her soul."

I think my favorite line in what Mackenzie wrote is "hope protects its space in the soul." I think that's pretty insightful. It reminds me of Psalm 42:11:

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Despite our difficulties and ever-changing feelings and emotions about our lives, there's this little 'space' protected by our hope in God that lives on in the soul. I'm thankful for that and "will yet praise Him" for setting that hope in my heart...