In church this Sunday our pastor chose HOPE as the main theme for the service.  He asked what sounded like an easy question, “What gives you hope?”

As I thought about that question I realized for many people there are different ideas of what hope means.  I did an internet search on “images of hope” and found some images there that did not seem hopeful to me at all.  I guess that shows what is hopeful for one person is not necessarily so for another.  Not a bad learning to take away from an internet search.

The image I chose for this posting is obviously about healing from cancer.  It is a condition that continues to touch new people year after year.  We have made many strides in how we can effectively treat cancer.  Yet we also know that not every cancer patient becomes a cancer survivor.  So while it is fine to place hope in medicine and your provider, I see it is also important to have an eternal hope that will be of comfort even if you hear the devastating news that the medicine is not working on your particular cancer.

I encourage to find someone, whether they have an illness or are healthy and engage them in a conversation about what gives them hope and why it gives them hope.  My hunch is that both of you will find your spirits lifted as a result of the conversation.