Hope raises its voice ...

Hope. Hope?

My hope is in the creator - the creator of the world and of you and me. There’s many mysteries I don’t have answers to (and to my surprise the list of mysteries and questions is increasing instead of decreasing) but I still have hope.
Without hope, it's impossible to keep going on this roller-coaster of life. Many days, I’ve lived on the thought that, "Tomorrow will be better than today" - that's hope. Hope in something I don't see, but I believe in.

                                                             The Hope of a New Day - Janet '09

I recently read these descriptions about hope. I love them and want to share them because I've had a health concern recently and cancer was on my mind, plus October is a month that most of us think about cancer more, since it’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In Erma Bombeck's book called “I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow Up, I Want to Go to Boise - Children Surviving Cancer” - a group of kids who had cancer were asked to describe "hope" as if it were an animal. Here are a few of the responses: 

• Hope is about two and and half feet tall.
• He is covered with fur and it's fluffy.
• Hope giggles.
• When it talks, you're the only one who can hear it.
• Hope raises its voice sometimes ... to talk louder than fear.
• Occasionally, Hope is shy and likes to hide.
• If you don't take good care of it - it can die.
• It will come to you only when you need it.
• Hope has offsprings like any other animal. They're called 'Hopelets.' You don't keep them. You share them with other people who need one.

Kids can be profound. I found something in each of them that made me say, “Yes, that’s right!” I think my favorite is about Hope raising its voice to be louder than fear. After reading those kid’s descriptions, I wrote my own. My descriptions for hope are -

• Hope is as comfortable as a soft, fluffy blanket.
• Hope helps you breathe.
• Hope can be knowledge - such as: knowing broken bones heal.
• Hope is priceless.

Do you have hope? What does hope feel like to you? 
How would you describe hope?

(Edited and reposted)