Hope

Contrary to current popular belief, hope is not a word invented by President Obama. It is a word that should actually make us feel better and long for something better. It should instill in us a desire to never want to give up. Hope is fragile and easy to lose. Today while out on a hike with my camera I took a long exposure of some ice formed over a moving stream. This makes the ice stand out against the motion of the water. I moved on and saw a hawk rapidly approaching, flying low, and directly towards me. I lifted my camera and fired a number of shots. In a blink he was gone. Wow! I hoped I had got one good shot. I looked at my digital viewfinder only to see blurry images. I had forgotten to reset my shutter speed and now all I got was...an angel? I continued towards the car at least happy I had seen such a beautiful creature resetting my camera as I walked yet still disappointed I had missed my shot. I had given up hope. Gliding out of the trees ahead the same hawk approached, this time I was ready, aimed, fired. He flew across my field of view and then upwards towards a second hawk - it was a rare and beautiful site. The two played in the air and I got more and better shots because I waited and was ready. This is how hope is. When we think it is gone and that opportunity has passed us by, we need to hold on, get ready, use the past as a stepping stone and prepare for what God has in store for us down the road. The result of having hope may be better than what we could have imagined or better than what we were disappointed in missing the first time.