Lift Me Up

Why do we hope? Is it part of human nature to believe that things will get better? What about predestination? I've often wondered at those who think God has decided everything in advance...where do they get any kind of initiative to do anything.

I've been doing some writing for a class I did through my UU Fellowship. I've come to the conclusion...that I'm a closet optimist. In the end, I'm one of those people that truly believes things will get better if I keep working at it, and hoping, and praying in my own unconventional way. I don't believe that things get better simply because we endure them, or because that's God's plan. I think we have to want it and contribute, too.

So, in my darkest times....and there have been a few of those as some people know...I have clung to the belief that soon, things will be better. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, but if I keep believing and hanging on I believe it will come.

What is this called in a person who doesn't claim any particular religion? I guess everyone has their own name for it. I call it hope.