Stay Strong, Hope

Staying grateful and keeping things in perspective on Day 8 of a 30 day liquid diet. I am so grateful that I have an end date to look towards, that allows hope to remain in my heart. It's a little like NSmen having their ORD, the date by which their service is officially over and they return to civilian life. It's the thought of that date that keeps them going. The light at the end of the tunnel that says, "Keep walking towards me, I'm not moving, you are!" I am grateful that I can count down the days knowing that on 2nd February I'll be able to eat again. Imagine if I didn't have a date or exit point to work towards. How exhausting and depressing would an interminably long wait be, and how weary and hopeless would the soul feel. Hope is so crucial to one's survival. It's the hope of a new dawn, a fresh start, a new beginning, a resurrection of life in one's bones, that keeps humanity alive. Life is meaningless without hope. I am grateful that I have an end date to this period of hunger and that the knowledge of it keeps me hopeful. I am grateful that hope still beats in my heart and keeps me going no matter what challenges life throws at me. It's a rather privileged perspective, of course, and that is very humbling indeed. It doesn't challenge one's faith into believing and trusting for one's next meal in the most impossible of circumstances but it does keep one going. And sometimes, on grey days and in dark seasons, the survival of a tiny bud of hope is enough of a miracle even if mountain moving seeds of faith seem to falter. God sees the heart and knows how tenaciously that hope holds on and asks no more. He is pleased with the tiny bud, and waters it with His compassion, grace and mercy. In due course, it brings forth seeds of faith. Stay strong, hope.

Thanks for reading,

Pav