It’s funny, for several weeks this phrase– there is hope in emptiness– has been running through my mind. And yet I can’t remember where I saw it. I actually think it might have been something I wrote in the manuscript I’m working on and stumbled on, but I don’t want to give myself that much credit.
How easy it is to forget that no matter what’s happening to us, no matter what road we’re traveling, there is hope..
Somewhere along this journey, we seem to have been taught that we will get instant answers if we pray for something. I learned that one the hard way- the answers don’t always come right away (have they ever?) and sometimes the answers aren’t quite what we expect them to be (remember, always be specific for what you’re asking for!).
The reality is that prayer often feels dry and empty. But, yes, there’s hope in that because there is hope in taking the time to ask, to know that there is possibility in that asking.
Someone once told me the sun can’t stay down forever and I always remember that when life feels overwhelming and challenging. It’s like the sun has to break through those clouds eventually.
It’s much the same for hope– it’s out there even though we can’t always see it or feel it. Life isn’t joyful and fulfilling all the time. We must be open that even when we do feel empty, that life feels meaningless, we don’t know what beauty and joy is around the corner.
There is hope in emptiness. I bet each time you repeat that when you feel emptiness, the dark clouds will subside and you’ll see some glimmer of blue that reminds you that it’s there and you’ll find it soon.