We are bringing “Darling Letters” from your inbox to the blog! We love the art of letter writing and believe it helps build authentic community. Our editors and contributors have thoughtfully written encouraging letters to cut through the busyness and speak straight to your heart.
One of my favorite pastimes is to go “house shopping.” This is when I hop in my car or lace up shoes and go for a stroll around my neighborhood or one nearby. I casually peruse the houses (most of which are not for sale and largely out of my tax bracket), and I wonder what it would be like to live there someday.
I imagine the sounds of laughter in the kitchen as a warm, home cooked meal is being prepared. I envision the lights at Christmas time and sitting around a cozy fireplace. I daydream about sliding down the banister into the arms of someone who loves me. My imagination runs wild as I pick out aspects of homes that I want to keep for my future floor plan—a big tree in the front yard, a wide porch and a teal door for a pop of color.
My imagination runs wild as I pick out aspects of homes that I want to keep for my own future floor plan.
It may seem silly but every time I do this, my heart feels slightly more hopeful and slightly more at ease with an unknown future. It’s as if choosing to believe for good things—a home and a family of my own—breeds hope. Dreaming of what could be breeds expectation of all that is possible.
It’s easy to lose hope, especially when faced with uncertainty or seemingly tedious waiting seasons. Instead of allowing our hearts to grow weary from disappointment and disillusionment, let’s choose to allow our imaginations to bring us back to hope again. Let’s dream about the futures we hope to one day see and expect good things.
Let’s choose to allow our imaginations to bring us back to hope again.
With hope,
Stephanie Taylor, Online Managing Editor
Is there a dream you have given up on? What caused you to lose hope? What good things come from keeping a heart full of expectation?
Image via Elizabeth Thorne
