“I’m sorry, Judy, but we selected two very qualified teachers for those positions.” I was crushed. Other than wanting to cry, I was baffled because I didn’t know how to be any more qualified. But I kept on. I subbed. I offered to help with any and all extra-curriculars. I applied for an aide position and got it. I chose to be thankful, and believe. I had hope that there was a position for me in that school.
Hope is a seed. It starts small. Sometimes it’s just a tickle, a thought in the back of the mind, a phrase that someone says in passing. But it has a persistence, a flash, a spark that captures your very being. Sometimes you have to dig for it, because it seems so far out of reach, but you just can’t let it go, even though everyone, including you, keeps telling you that you should. Like a seed, it is planted in darkness and remains unseen. You know it’s there, but you can’t see it. You long for it, wonder if it’s real. So you water it and keep the weeds away because somehow you know that it will come forth and bear fruit.
Hope is placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5 tells us that we have peace with God through Jesus and through Him we can walk into faith and grace and rejoice in hope of glory of God. His glory is all His goodness. He gives us the ability to walk into it. And in the book of Hebrews He tells us this hope that He puts in us is an anchor to our souls. If you’ve ever been in a boat in rough seas, you know how important and life-preserving an anchor is. Life in this world can be very rocky. Thank God He puts hope in our hearts.
Hope does not disappoint. Romans 5 also tells us we can glory in adversity and pressure because it produces endurance and perseverance. That perseverance develops character and character produces more hope. This hope doesn’t disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in hearts by the Holy Spirit, and that love brings perspective and confidence. So, no matter how you come at life or how life comes at you, if you trust God, you will not be disappointed because His love comes with it. This doesn’t mean to lay down and let terrible things happen to you, but when things do happen, let hope arise within you and hang on to God.
That year that I was an aide was tough. It was with the students who had behavior issues. Oh did I learn. I persisted, I hoped, and I gained experience. In the next set of interviews, I was hired to teach the following year in a position that I held and loved for 22 years. The seed from God did not disappoint. I worked hard, had a blast, and know I was a positive influence on many young people. Let your hope grow. Water it, nourish it, protect it, don’t let it go, and see what God can do.