A History of Hope

We live in a day and age that many would call uncertain, tense, and terrifying. Much of what we once took for granted seems to be slipping from our grasp, like a foundation made of sand. Each day, hundreds of men and women swell the ranks of the unemployed. Prices shoot towards the ceiling as debt and inflation pull this country deeper and deeper into the mire of economic collapse. Morality seems to be a thing of the past, abandoned by a generation that lives to waste their lives. The education system has been choked by its own rabid desire for impressive statistics. Even the government, the one institution that should stay solid during a crises, has been corrupted, bloated, and grown into a tyrannical monstrosity it was never meant to be.

Honestly, in our day and age, there's little to BE thankful for. Most of what the future would seem to hold is bleak, full of tension and pain.

But as you celebrate this uniquely American tradition of Thanksgiving, remember those pilgrims who began this holiday: they had just come through one of the coldest, harshest winters they've ever experienced. So many of them had died or been permanently injured by the deadly freezes. In fact, less than a quarter of them had survived the vicious season.

As they came out into spring, however, they were filled with new purpose. They had conquered the continent, and now nothing could stand in their way. So, even though their numbers had thinned to almost non-existence; even though their houses were nowhere ready for another winter; even though there was no guarantee they would survive for another day, they decided to celebrate. The harvest came in, and they gave their laughter, joy, and peace as an offering to the God to whom they owed their souls.

They found something to be thankful for. In a maelstrom of hurt, uncertainty, and despair, they clung to the hope that the next warm season would bring peace. So rather than give up, let us too dig deep within ourselves, to the inextinguishable flame of hope buried in the core of humanity, and forge on to a brighter tomorrow.