HOPE: TRUSTING THAT GOD KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING

by Sr. Anita Rolenc, ND

Hope is one of the three theological virtues (along with faith and charity), and it is something I think about often in my prayer.  When I pray, I usually ask God to increase my faith, strengthen my hope, and purify my love.

When I focus on hope, I realize how important it is in my life.  If I didn’t hope for good things, if I didn’t hope for peace in the world, or for God’s forgiveness, love, and mercy, my life would be miserable. Hope gives life meaning and direction.  With hope also comes the virtue of trust.  If I have hope, I trust that God is in charge.

Trust is another way of looking at hope.  I trust that God loves me and forgives me.  I trust that God has my best interests at heart.  God knows what I need.  Even in the small things of life, I trust God.  For example, I trust God to answer my prayers and help me in my work in the archives and the sacristy.  Of course, I trust that God will answer my prayers as God sees fit, not necessarily according to what I want or how I want it.  Hope is trusting that God will provide what I need.

I remember having a lot of hope when I was writing my master’s thesis.  At the time, I was teaching high school full time and writing my thesis on the side.  I also had to travel from Wahoo to Omaha to meet with my advisor, and there was a deadline to meet.  I basically just trusted that I would get it done and I did, in December 1978.

Hope also shapes how I think about the people I love.  I feel that God provides a connection between my late sister Karen and me.  I talk to Karen often in prayer.  I ask her questions and I ask her to guide me, and she does. God gives me hope through that relationship, the hope that Karen and my parents and two other sisters and I will one day be reunited and together again.

For me, hope is deeply connected to trust.  It is trusting that God loves me, guides me, and knows what is best for me, even when I do not fully understand the path before me.