Episode 155 - Hope and Caring

Previously I began looking at concepts that are connected with each other as we journey to hope.  One such powerful concept is caring.  In this episode I look at the relationship between hoping and caring.  We conclude by looking at how hope multiplies as we share it with others.

Transcript

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Hello Friends, I’m your host Dr. Dave Laton and thank you for joining me in Our Journey to Hope.

It is my desire through this podcast to bring you information about how to discover, sustain, or perhaps regain hope.   

I’ve expressed it many times over the various episodes that one way to grow in our own hope is to share it with others.  In this episode I want to explore that a bit more as I look at the relationship between hope and caring.  I also want to encourage you to share the hope you have with others.  You’ll be glad you did.

Hope is a small word—but it carries a lot of weight and depth of meaning.  

Hope isn’t wishful thinking.  It’s not pretending everything is fine. It means to have confident assurance that something will happen.  It is a forward-looking concept.  The more hope I have the more vision I have for the future.

Hope is what helps us up in the morning when yesterday was heavy. It’s what whispers, “This isn’t the end.”  

Here’s something we don’t talk about enough.  Hope doesn’t just live inside us.

Hope comes alive when we care for others.

 Hope is more than a feeling that is best expressed through action.  It moves. It reaches outward.  

One of the best actions we can express as we grow in hope is to share it with someone whose hope is being challenged.  By doing so, we show that we care.

When we care for someone else, we listen, encourage, and show up in the moment of need.  And in doing so we express that the person matters, their moments matter, and their future matters.

Caring says, “I can help things get better,” even when circumstances haven’t changed yet.  

Think about the time someone showed you they cared when you didn’t feel strong.  It doesn’t have to be something grand and glorious.  In fact, it often means more when it is a simple, kind and caring gesture.  Something like a phone call or you received an encouraging card.  Perhaps a meal is dropped off.  Maybe it was just someone sitting quietly beside you. It can also be seen by checking on a neighbor, being patient with someone who’s struggling, or choosing kindness when it’s easier to walk away

Did it fix everything? Probably not. But showing we care does something powerful, it reminds us that we are not alone.

Caring matters.  Perhaps that is why Jesus spoke about it as he was describing final judgment in Matthew 25.  He didn’t speak about doing grand and glorious things.  Rather, he spoke about ordinary gestures of caring that all of us can do.  In verses 31 through 37 he explains what is truly important.  He states we show our love for Him when we feed the hungry, provide relief for the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned.  He concludes the thought by saying when we do it for the least of these, we are doing it for Him.  

Here’s something else about hope and caring.  Hope grows faster when it’s shared.  It grows in us, and in the one we show we care.  When we care for others, we become carriers of hope—sometimes without even realizing it.

Here’s another phenomenal element about hope and caring.  Expressing care for others doesn’t drain hope, it multiplies it in ourselves and in the one we care for.

Although caring can be heroic, care is best seen through ordinary moments.  Quite often, rather than wearing a super-hero cape, it wears work boots as it goes along quietly working its magic.

Hope and caring for others are deeply connected.  Hope gives us the courage to care.  Caring gives hope a place and a way to thrive.

So today, if you’re searching for hope, try giving it away by expressing care for another.  You might discover that as you care for others, hope has been caring for you all along.

Friends, I’m Dr. Dave Laton and thank you for walking with me on this journey. Until next time, keep moving forward on our journey to hope.

I invite you to contact me if you have questions or comments, or if you wish to share with me something you’ve experienced in your journey to hope.  My email is info@ourjourneytohope.com.   

 And please, share this podcast with someone whose hope is being challenged.

I look forward to sharing more with you soon.  And until our next episode, remember, we give all glory to God our Father.