Hope

 

A close friend shared this with me today.  

"Heartbreak and hope are not mutually exclusive. We can be angry and sad and filled with longing for something we cannot have, and simultaneously we can be grateful for what we've got - aware, for reasons we'd never choose, of what really matters and what doesn't."

It's the anniversary of her pregnancy loss.  And she feels a deep sadness, rightfully so. 

It's an experience so many prospective parents have suffered.  

And it's okay to have hope without saying everything is great, or to deny the very real loss.  That's the purpose of hope. To overcome that loss and have things made right in the end by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

It's okay to be grateful and still wish things were different.  Whether it be in health, employment, relationships or other loss and difficulty.  

My friend can be grateful for the time she had feeling her baby grow inside of her and still wish that she had known the joy of having tiny fingers squeeze her own. 

I can be grateful for the empathy I've gained in battling lupus, and the friends who've supported me and still wish I didn't have daily pain and physical limitations. 

We can be grateful for the friendships and opportunities that we do have, and still hope for an eternal companion.  

We can be thankful for the answers and spiritual confirmations we have had and still have hope that other answers and peace will continue to come.

Hope doesn't mean saying everything is okay just the way it is.  

Having an attitude of gratitude doesn't mean putting on blinders and pretending bad things don't happen.  

It does mean feeling disappointment, fear, uncertainty, grief and sorrow and STILL trusting and hoping in Jesus Christ.  

It does mean looking for the good and tender mercies WITHIN the trials.  

It does mean learning to better recognize His hand and presence even at our most difficult moments.  

Elder Richard G Edglet promised, "From our sorrow we might seek out the sweetness and the good that is often associated with and peculiar to our challenge. We can seek out those memorable moments that are frequently hidden by the pain and agony. We can find peace in extending ourselves to others, using our own experiences to provide hope and comfort. And we can always remember with great solemnity and gratitude Him who suffered most to make it all right for us. And by so doing we can be strengthened to bear our burdens in peace. And then, the “works of God” might be manifest."