This is the hope we have...

I’m sitting in a family waiting area in a large hospital, waiting for a family member to enter surgery. It’s an interesting area – the chairs are more comfortable than they look, but the room at the moment is crowded, rather sterile, and filled with a mix of attitudes and emotions, not helped by the gray skies and uninspiring view out the windows. But despite the discomfort, I think we all have one thing in common…hope. Patients, family, doctors, staff – we’re all in this place because of hope. I know that some of the patients here today will leave changed. I hope they all will. The surgeries here may relieve unbearable pain, give freedom to the physically unable, give new life to what seems to have been damaged beyond repair. This weekend Christians celebrate hope above all else. Somehow, God addressed evil and suffering and death through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and the Resurrection is the sign of the change, of new life. As I write this, it is Good Friday. We call this Friday “good” because out of that day came hope. Resurrection. Out of death and suffering came new life. Out of darkness came light. Out of fear and despair came joy. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, KJV) We all need hope. This weekend, both Friday and Easter Sunday, mean that no matter where you are, what you’re dealing with, no matter how hopeless and dead you feel, there is the hope of new life, of healing. Resurrection. You may not feel it. When you feel lost in the dark, you may not really believe it. But it’s true. I am a therapist, and all of the therapists I know are therapists, because we have hope. We believe healing and new life are possible. And we can carry your hope for you, when you can’t seem to find it. If you would like to talk about hope, if you want new life, I would be grateful to work and walk with you or to put you in touch with other bearers of hope. May you find hope this Easter. (The title is from Hebrews 6:19).