Hope

A friend asked me a question about work two days ago.  Why are they (specific names) doing what they are doing?  I did not answer the question.  I made an observation.  The best one can do is to ask for something, then give people an opportunity to respond.  How and why they respond is their choice.  My answer is, I believe, technically accurate however I found the question puzzling.  Why?
 
Why do we do crazy, impossible things?  Is there a reason we attempt to achieve things beyond our abilities or confidence?  Can we explain the willingness to sacrifice, especially for love?
 
The simple answer is probably not.  I do not know why I do many things.  I know I do not know why others to them.  I can identify something that all hold in common when we take on something impossible.  It is Hope.
 
Hope changes everything.  Hope makes the impossible possible.  Hope gives strength when everything and everybody has given up. 
 
If there is a reason for why the team I am fortunate enough to work with is taking on the impossible.  Hope is the reason why long hours, sacrifice, and a willingness to go into the darkness are familiar friends to all.  Hope is the tie that binds us together.
 
It is good to sense Hope’s presence.  At times, I know things are overwhelming.  Frequently, Hope seems to be on vacation.  Yet, often when I need it the most, Hope reappears, willing to engage, always able to make the difference.  It is extraordinary, God given in your life and mine.
 
Today the darkness is lingering just before dawn.  It is hard to see very far into the future.  In fact, I wonder what the day is going to bring.  Hope is here, reminding me that things are never lost, that “God's ransomed will come back, come back to Zion cheering, shouting, joy eternal wreathing their heads, exuberant ecstasies transporting them—and not a sign of moans or groans.”  (Isaiah 51.11) 
 
It is time for the impossible.  It’s time to dance.  It’s time to live.