Elizabeth Barrette
"Hope is
folding paper canes
even when your hands get cramped
and your eyes tired,
working past blisters and
paper cuts,
simply because something in you
insists on
opening its wings."
I read this poem the other day for one of my classes and fell in love with the ideas that are underlying in it.
To me hope is about so much more than just being optimistic or looking ahead to the future but about putting actions with your words. Even though the dictionary defines hope as a feeling, I believe it is worth so much more than that. If we just 'believe' that something will happen but make no effort towards accomplishing our goal, nothing will ever come of it.
James 2:14-18,20 says:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
...one verse later...
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
In the poem what made the most impact was the fact that even though all hope and any reserved energy seemed to be gone, the worker pressed on and created a beautiful piece. If they had given up just a few steps prior to finishing, they would just end up with crumpled paper but by finishing out the steps, they created a beautiful crane!
In case you would like to know what it takes to make a crane:
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