Hoping amidst the Struggles

After a year in which I’ve often been inclined to sigh “how long?”, some words of Saint Teresa of Avila gave me a nudge to be grateful for the struggles I face:

• Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.

So, in her mind, a finite period of suffering leads to an eternal increase in joys.  Pondering this makes it seem foolish to lament our struggles, but it’s hard to help it.  Even though we know there’s a bigger picture, it can be hard to see past our present pains. 
 
Thank God for His gift of hope!  I’ve actually been hearing a fair amount about hope lately.  It seems to be a popular theme across multiple venues. 
 
Hope is important.  It keeps us from discouragement, sustains us when abandoned, and opens our hearts in expectation of heaven (CCC 1818).  As the Catechism further tells us, our hearts are made to desire happiness.  Hope directs our hearts to seek heaven. 
 
Paul puts it well in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: “For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen.”
 
Hope lies in fixing our eyes on Jesus!  As the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews states: “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
 
This leads us to another inspiration for hope: the lives of the saints.  They’ve gone through similar trials, yet endured in faith, hope and love.  Now, they are enjoying life forever in heaven!
 
But, how do we deal with the here and now?  How do we endure when it seems that one storm surge encroaches upon another?  How do we keep hope when we end up praying, day after day, for help with a situation?
 
I don’t pretend to have perfect answers to these questions…I have struggled with them, myself. 
 
However, I believe that part of the answer can be found in the upcoming celebration of Thanksgiving.  If we focus on the gifts that God gives us every day, rather than on the struggles, we can have a more positive outlook; we can be happier and more hopeful. 
 
It seems we would do well to follow the advice found in Romans 12:12: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer."

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