Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of
life.
Proverbs 13:12
For just a
moment, on Sunday morning, Pastor Larry Schram talked about this verse and I
was reminded of a time not that long ago.
I
remember. I remember it very well. The day the Doctor said to us that there was no
hope. Through tears I spoke up for John
and I said ‘but there could be a miracle.’
She shook her head ‘no.’
Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
I’ve come to
realize since then, that it is always better to give some hope...always.
Cancer is a
scary word, true, but it is not a death sentence. Today there are so many ways of treatment,
new ways, better ways...there is always a way, if it is not a way out now,
right now, there is a way to hope for the next day, the next way...always there
is hope...even if it is the hope only God offers. The blessed hope.
I read a
magazine article the other day, where a woman was told by her Doctor, that there
was nothing they could do for her, she was devastated.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
The Doctor said they would go ahead with the treatment anyway. Amazingly enough, it worked, the cancer shrunk,
she was going to be okay. But the Doctor had said nothing could be done? Really,
nothing? Wouldn’t it have been better to
offer hope in the first place? She said
“What I still can’t understand is why
they would take away my hope before the answer would be clear.”
There is a
fine line between being real with the pain of knowing and being real with the
hope of healing. There is a fine line
between being not unrealistic and being
hopeful. It is true that it’s hard to know the difference, but, as far as
it depends on you, always, offer hope.
Working at
the cancer agency I have observed that it is not the patient who is down, in
fact they are usually cheering everyone else up. It is true that when you hear of
someone who has been diagnosed, that your reaction is sadness...yes, it’s sad,
but be careful; don’t defer hope. Hope should
always be conveyed, hope should always be realized and hope should always be
maintained.
A friend of
mine asked her friend who had been diagnosed with a form of lymph cancer “What
can I do for you?” His answer, “The best
thing you can do is to make me laugh; send me stories, pictures, movies
anything that will make me laugh.”
So my friend
looked for anything that was funny. Along the way something happened to her, she cheered up, she found a way to
feel better. In the process of cheering
up her friend she found herself looking on the brighter side, the hopeful side
and she in turn gave him hope.
He was wise
in asking for it, she was encouraged in doing it...offering hope.
Offering hope, Libby Znaimer, the author of the magazine article I had been reading called it, the audacity of hope.
audacity, noun
1.boldness or daring, especially with confident or arrogant disregard
for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions.
for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick...the audacity of hope, brings healing to the heart and soul...it is a tree of life.
I love that.
