All Shall Be Well: What Sustains My Hope
by Sr. Margaret Hickey, ND
“What sustains my hope: I first have to ask, ‘do I have hope?’ ‘am I hope filled with so much going on around me – in our nation, our world, our province, my personal life’?”
To say I am not hopeful or that I do not have hope is to deny my God, the life and death of Jesus, my faith, my mentors through many years, and the gifts God has given me for service. I do have hope in my God, that one day all shall be well and all shall be fully united in God’s love for all people, all creation!
I worry about the harm being done in our nation to those who are poor, of a different culture, of a different way of life or belief, and I am sad. But hope awakens in me when I realize I can do something to change this in my small circle of daily life – loving and respecting others, not judging but coming to accept and understand.
I worry about how we will navigate our move into being a Canonical House and deal with our smaller numbers and fewer ones of us to help set direction. Then I remember our long history since 1853 in Bohemia, 1910 in the U.S., and realize we’ve had these worries before, and we have trusted in God’s providence to continue meeting the unmet needs we find. This gives me joy, gives me peace, gives me hope.
I worry now about my health and what this 3rd cancer episode in my life means and I live the questions and uncertainties. Will one procedure fix this and end the cancer? I easily forget that my healing God is with me each day and will give me what I need to live each day fully. Then the answers don’t matter that much as does living with awareness of God with me always, and my sisters, and relatives, and friends supporting me. My hope is restored, and I more easily accept my condition as it is now, today. And with hope comes joy and peace and a great desire to see what the next step in my life will bring.
God sustains my hope each day. Those around me sustain my hope as I witness their living their lives fully and speaking their truth. I have learned, though sometimes I forget, that in every challenge or problem or worry there is a gift, a gift from God, an answer, a direction to go, an inspiration to act. I search for the gift, embrace it and move forward in hope. God promises, ALL SHALL BE WELL!