Hopeful Friday

HOPE is . . .

An outstretched hand,
A tear-stained smile,
A sprouting seed,
A dawning day,
A gentle rain,
A fresh spring breeze,
A sparkling eye,
A swelling womb,
A forgiving embrace,
A dying savior,
A living God.

* * * * *

The weary traveler plods along one footfall at a time. Careworn and faltering, battered by the elements, humbled by the onslaught of trials, he seeks an end regardless of resolution.

A gentle light breaks forth in the night. A taper’s glow spills forth from a lace-clad window calling “welcome” to all who pass.

Regretting the lack of relation, he stumbles past as hunger gnaws his very heart.

A backward glance, a parted doorway, a beckoning gesture serves invitation to the stranger.

To pause, to ponder, to doubt again the intention would surely extinguish the hope. The chilblained digits cased in threadbare mitts wave back a pointed query: “Me? Call you me?”

The glint of a smile in the frosty moonlight glances off the face and warms the weary heart.

Later a satiated stomach and thawed frame rest gently by the hearth as tears course down coarsened cheeks. The simple glow of a flame endorsing hospitality, nearly lost in a cold and careless world, has assuaged another and enriched us all.

Refreshed and rested, the traveler sets back upon the path. The vigor of his step belies the arduousness of the journey. Hope burns again, kindled by the mere flicker of a single obedient flame.

Where once a solitary flame burned, another has sparked to life and walked out in hopefulness to infect the world with selfsame hope.

* * * * *

Ye are the light of the world . . .

Neither do men light a candle,
And put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;
And it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men,

That they may see your good works,
And glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

* * * * *

Pass It On

“It only takes a spark, to get a fire going,

And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing . . .

©1969 Bud John Songs, Inc

Words and Music by Kurt Kaiser