It's all in a Hug: Hope - the second letter in the collection of letters to my daughter.

Dear Daughter,

Hope. It's only a four letter word. But it has the power to fuel the survival of humanity. To journey well here on earth you must learn to ride on it. Hope is the call that summons you forward in a dark tunnel. And all humans go through a dark tunnel at sometime in their lives. And when you embrace it's brightness you will shine like a bright star in a dark night.

When situations come before you and they appear to suggest that all will not be well or that your dreams may not come true. You speak back to them with courage, strength and confidence. There are many things that can give you this confidence. If you have friends and family standing with you in the midst of your trials they can comfort you and build your confidence in realizing that all will be okay in the end. Diverting your focus on areas in your life that are going well can also help you to not feel the heaviness of trying times.

Good problem solving and objective thinking can also help you win over many mountains. Difficulties and hurt in life are a sure thing and the world has created many ways of coping with hope-stealing circumstances. We have created distractions to disconnect us from dealing with the real pain. Watching television, eating comfort food, shopping, gossiping, procrastinating and the long list goes on of all some of the things we can do to pretend that nothing has really gone wrong. Not all ways are a complete waste. There are some healthy ways of coping and thriving as well like exercising, eating well, getting good rest, helping others, learning to laugh more and so on. But the heart of the matter is that they are all dealing with the symptoms, the feelings. They are not the cure.

The real issue is that we are created to live in peace and not in turmoil. Our bodies, minds and souls can only handle temporary crises. Anything that persists longer begins to erode one or all of them. Trying times are usually ones that reveal to us how much we are not in control of things that happen to us. While some don't believe in God, I have chosen to believe. I believe that I was created with purpose and there is someone watching over me whose wisdom and power is greater and beyond my understanding. In fact in my trying times my trust in Him has made me live in peace. More specifically a verse that I have time and time again hung my life on is Romans 8:28 "And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans" (TLB). And this my daughter what gives me hope. I pray that this will be your hope too.

I also pray that nothing will be able to steal your hope in all the days that you live on this earth. And that you will not keep this secret to yourself but will shine it brightly, like the stars do.