A Sea of Hope

He thought he might see a whale, or maybe a shark or two, unblinkingly grandson announced before we made our way to the Oregon Coast. Oh the mind of a child where plethora of possibilities exist true, where innocence and imagination infuse the small frame with life-pumping hope. I nodded a yes, all the while my eyes pinned on that ring of hope a child so easily grasps. At the beach that weekend there was not a whale or shark sighting. No great leaps of mammoth black-and-white shapes arcing above cold, salty ocean blue. No gray sharks swimming laps around unsuspecting fisherman.
"But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?" We don't know where the path will lead, but we know the One who paves the way, and this everlasting hope never disappoints.

A fisherman stood on a small hill above the sand, dipping a mammoth wand into liquid concoction, blowing translucent bubbles into early morning atmosphere. Me, I wanted to keep walking at our steady pace, uninterrupted, stepping away from this delightful display. Husband, he pulled his iPhone from his coat pocket and ushered me right into the tiny miracle. Hope, it moves into the moment like a silent dance partner.

This boy who wanted to see whales and sharks, he found something else instead. A castle made of sand, a feather, and random sea shells. And a father who never gave up hope on crafting something beautiful out of the ordinary.  

We stop to notice, to focus, and in the midst of the grit and the mundane, we smile knowingly, and take the next step a little more hopefully.

 

And sometimes, all it takes to lift the weary spirit, to garner one more breath, is unbridled hope emanating from the beautiful eyes of another.

 

Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.

~Martin Luther~