A Light for My Path

There’s a famous poem by Emily Dickinson called “Hope is the Thing With Feathers”. The first verse says:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all

It’s a beautiful metaphor in that it implies that we can carry hope with us always. It is constantly with us and requires nothing from us in return. The poem goes on to talk about how Hope can withstand the hardest “gale” and the coldest country and constantly sings for us without expecting anything in return.

I remember having to memorize and recite this poem in high school English. And, as an English major in college having to explicate it on an exam. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it was probably something to the effect of “if we have hope in our soul, we can withstand the hardest trials of life with a song continually in our heart.”

I don’t mean to be cynical but that sounds so naïve to me now.

There have been many times in my life when I had no song in my heart. Losing my daughter was just one of those times, but certainly was the hardest. In the early days after her death, I could barely speak without crying. Every song I heard made me sad or mad, whether they were songs Rachel loved, worship songs, or just songs that implied the world is a sunny, fun place to be.

It wasn’t. And I felt hopeless.

Sometimes hope is hard to come by. I don’t believe we just naturally and always have hope in our souls. Hope is not one of the fruits of the spirit (the attributes the Holy Spirit plants and nurtures in our soul, if we open ourselves to Him). Those fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So where does hope come from? How can we live a hopeful life when terrible things happen?

Maybe we need to redefine hope. Perhaps we need to look at hope as a future gift.

In his letter to the Christian church in Rome, Paul says that he glories in his sufferings because they push him to persevere and persevering builds character (i.e., moral qualities). And those moral qualities point him to faith in God, His Son, and His Holy Spirit. Which produces hope. (Romans 5:1-5)

Hope because we are reconciled through Jesus’s sacrifice.

Hope is a tough thing. It comes from believing and persevering through trials and heartbreak. I don’t think it “perches” in the soul. It burrows in and implants itself deep enough that we can hang on even when we can’t sing, when we are suffering. It’s not soft and feathery.

The hope that sustains us through the worst trials and griefs life throws at us is unbreakable. It may not always sing a happy tune. But, if it is truly the hope that comes from God, it never stops at all.

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Laura