one can only hope

Sometimes I am left feeling like I am completely and totally OUT. OF. CONTROL.

Now I don't mean out of control, coo coo crazy. I mean having absolutely no control over the turns my life will take. None whatsoever. For as much as we try to plan and calculate the outcome or mark our calendar, it is all completely out of our hands. And all that there is left to do is hope.

Hope, redeeming hope. What does that mean, really?

Hope

1. The feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best

2. A person or thing in which expectations are centered

3. To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence

4. To believe, desire, or trust

Why does it seem that to have hope it implies also having a certain amount of despair? Doesn't having hope equate having perseverance, to believe that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary?

I believe strongly in the concept of free will. When faced with uncertainties, its important to pray, yes. But it's just as important to continue hoping, dreaming and desiring. Never giving up the want.

Hope is what keeps you going, despite all the odds stacked against you. It's the difference between losing the struggles and beating them. It's what separates the 'can't happens' from the 'quite possibly coulds'. 

It's being aware of a spiritual truth without an inkling of a doubt.

When I don't know my ups from downs, God is always there to point me in the right direction. Even if that means the direction I had planned suddenly changes course without warning. If I keep my eyes on Him, I can know I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Through every turn, whether good or bad, the one and only constant in my life has been Jesus. 

And with that understanding, I have finally come to a place where it's not so tough being out of control.