The following excerpt is from Willowgreen Publishing’s book Finding Hope: Ways to See Life in a Brighter Light by Ronna Jevne and James E. Miller. It includes full pages of quotations along with the very short chapters, as well as some of Jim’s black and white photography.

     No one wants to hear the words, “There is no hope.” None of us wants to be in the situation of saying, “I feel hopeless.” In difficult times we want to sense that hope is nearby, or at least at the end of the tunnel. Whether the challenge that confronts us is illness or disability, separation from a loved one or the loss of something very important to us, our situation is eased if we feel at least some hope.
     You might notice in your own life that you use the word “hope” often but you have not thought much about what hope is. When it comes right down to it, you can’t easily describe hope. You may not be sure exactly what it means. You are not alone. Even the scholars have been unable to agree on a definition. No one, however, doubts the value of hope. No one questions that life is difficult without it.
     We know there are two basic situations that lead to feelings of hopelessness—uncertainty and captivity. With uncertainty we fear that things will change in some way we do not want. In captivity we fear that things will not change as we feel they need to. In both cases it seems we have lost control of our future.
     Lack of hope is most visible in the person whose days seem lifeless and long, the person we commonly think of as discouraged or depressed. Yet there are many people who struggle silently with hopelessness in the midst of busy and demanding schedules. Life for them has become a treadmill of obligations. It has lost its satisfaction. They feel trapped by circumstance and sense that their future will be an endless rut of meaningless activity.
     Difficulty and uncertainty are part of life for all of us at one time or another. The question becomes how we can sustain our hope during such times. How can we build hope when ours gets low, and how can we find hope when it’s disappeared?

What is hope?

     Hope is looking forward with both confidence and suspense to something good. When we hope, we anticipate that something we want to happen can indeed happen. Even if it’s unlikely, it’s still possible. Even if others do not see things as we do, we’re still convinced what we hope for can come true. Will it happen for sure? No one can say. Yet even when it’s unlikely, that is no reason for us to stop hoping. It is no reason to surrender the future we have envisioned.
     When we hope, we expect the future can somehow be better, no matter what our present condition is. And should that future turn out to be other than we imagined, all is not lost. We can still help create a tomorrow we’re prepared to be a part of, even if that tomorrow looks different than we presumed it would. We can still find meaning in what our days hold, even if it may take us awhile to discover that.
     As much as anything, hope helps us live with the unpredictability we must face from time to time in our lives. It serves as a companion when the future is unsure or unclear. Hope stays with us and heartens us when our options appear limited, when the possibilities seem to diminish.

Ronna Jevne and Jim Miller have much more to say about hope, and many more ideas about how to find and build hope, in their book Finding Hope: Ways to See Life in a Brighter Light.

Back To Top