Thriving...in Spite of It

What does hope have to do with courage?  I got the answer from a bumblebee.  Just a few feet away from me, an imminent threat to some, he hovers around the lavender this morning, tediously but persistently checking each tiny blossom for pollen. I move to pick up my coffee mug; he dodges ever so slightly, then returns to his task, inching closer and closer to where I sit as he works his way down the row.  It’s not that he’s careless of or oblivious to danger; he is just more determined than his instinctive and fully justifiable fears to secure what he needs in spite of them. Many of the blooms have dried or fallen, but he persists in checking each one anyway, driven by a minuscule possibility that there still might be something left. He hopes. He is driven by hope. His hope gives him courage to persist. And as he persists, courageously, he is rewarded by finding the occasional prize. Because of his courage, he finds more reason to hope.  So hope and courage flow in an...

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I have a lot of family and friends with March birthdays, and as the years add up, it becomes harder and harder to find that “perfect gift.” Perhaps it’s because we change so much as we pass from decade to decade, like walking through successive doors connecting room after room of its own discoveries and challenges.  And then there is the perception that everyone else is as difficult to please as we are. We think we know exactly what we want or need, but we end up choosing things — even for ourselves — that don’t fit or function the way we imagined. Even our own plans undermine us, leading us into frustration or failure, leaving us eventually disappointed or discontented and looking for the next thing that hopefully won’t.  We go on as if life “just happens” or happens to us instead of for ...