Translating a World on the Edge

I have been on this earth for quite a few years, more than I sometimes like to admit. And I have had much joy, happiness, and fulfillment. But these gifts cannot be taken for granted. There have been several times in my life when I thought my happy life might be completely over, times when every day seemed to work against me, when every night was filled with tears and worry. If we are human beings, all of us at one time or another will experience these feelings concerning something negative that has happened to us. How do we get through them?

Well, we don’t/can’t do it on our own. We may be the most powerful person around, but we are not powerful enough to change events that hit us out of the blue, events completely out of our hands, those truly crushing events that cause our hearts to beat wildly in our chests, shaking our very existence. We cannot change these sort of events. They just are. So, do we just lay down and take it? Is there any weapon in the arsenal of our humanity that can help us?

Oh yes! A very crucial one. And without it, we don’t survive. It is called HOPE. It does not come loudly. It does not come uninvited. And it does not come without two friends: strong FAITH and unselfish LOVE.

HOPE is not something we can buy, or that we create in ourselves. It comes only through God, our Creator, who loves us. HOPE is closely related to TRUST—that action that is often hard for us to do. Because to do it we have to let go of control, of trying to manipulate things ourselves. HOPE is when we look up, not down, because the spiritual part of our human nature is calling us to look at higher things.

To let go, to trust, to hope, are not things our society pushes today. We are supposed to be in control of our lives, to be strong, and maybe even to be gods ourselves. Of course, this is falsity, for there is only one God, and not one of us is Him. We will never be able to get rid of our misery and truly hope until we’ve accepted that.

So, if you are going through a trauma in your life, open yourself up to HOPE by returning to the God who made you, and sincerely ask for His gifts of strong Faith and unselfish Love. These are gifts He will never deny you.

God will never, never, never let us down if we have faith and put our trust in Him. –Mother Teresa