"Sometimes, hope can be found in unexpected places...in the silence, in the listening, and of course, in the waiting."

Perhaps, there is hope to be found in the waiting.
Perhaps in corridors and stairwells
where you have slowed down
only to catch your breath
you will be invited into the depths
of the wonder
of what
beautiful things
might happen here.
And it might just leave you speechless,
because maybe there will not
be much left to say
when a flicker of Light shines in
through the worst of things,
whispering,
“in Me,
you will be
okay.”

If you have been searching for hope in the waiting, don’t give up just yet. Sometimes hope seems loud and clear, like your favorite song being sung in unison by thousands of voices in an amphitheater. But other times, hope can be found in unexpected places...in the silence, in the listening, and of course, in the waiting.

When you are waiting on something, or someone, it likely means that you are waiting for answers in one way or another. Maybe you’re waiting for a solid “yes” or a “no” so you can finally move forward. Maybe you’re waiting for someone to make a decision, or you’re waiting to get clarity about what to do next. In the waiting, silence can feel like anything but comforting. It can leave room for your already persistent questions to breed even more questions. It can leave your mind to keep going back over what was said, what wasn’t said, and what remains a mystery to you. Even when you talk it out with others, their encouragement just doesn’t seem to be enough sometimes. The silence still persists. The lack of answers still speaks louder than anything else.

May this be the season you embrace the challenge of making room for the silence in your life. Maybe you could even welcome it. I am not saying that you will find all of the answers there or that you will suddenly be able to live a life of bliss without the suffering brought on by waiting, but perhaps there is hope hidden there. Perhaps in the moments where it’s just you, your thoughts, and those same tired-feelings you’ve been feeling for ages, there is still room to find a reason to keep going.

Maybe there is still room for hope.

Maybe after everything you lost, you are still finding love. Maybe after a heartbreaking end to a relationship, you are finding life-giving friendship. Maybe dynamics are changing in your family, but you are finding new family to comfort you through the change. Maybe after devastating news that left you feeling entirely alone, you found out that there were a few more supporting people around you than you thought.

I truly believe that none of these things are coincidences. They are signs of hope. They may not undo the heartbreak or devastation, and you might still be trying to figure out how to live with these wounds, but perhaps, hope is still finding you...meeting you in hallways, driveaways, and a thousand unexpected places.

Keep your eyes open. Keep your ears open. Keep all of your senses open to tasting bits of hope in the world around you. It might be the morning sun coming in through your window. It might be the sound of child’s laughter who has yet to be burdened by the weight of this world. It might be a photograph, a kind message from a friend…

you never know
where hope
might show up
in the season,
so keep your eyes open.
See Light pouring in
fully and faithfully
through everything
that was broken.

More tomorrow...

Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols