Witch hazel, a species native to Missouri, blooms in February amidst snow and ice.
“For Mrs. Jones, hope was relational. It didn’t exist in the abstract. Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice. It is not a saccharine optimism that refuses to see, face, or grapple with the wretchedness of reality. You can’t have active hope without despair because hope is a response. Hope is the act of conviction that despair will never have the last word.”
–Langston Hughes
Thank You, M’am, 1958
This world is overwhelming most days. The list of scary speculations is long. It’s nearly impossible to look away.
I’m not immune to despair, though my name is Faith. I work daily alongside people who embody hope, toward a vision rooted in reality. Still, sometimes, my lenses get clouded by the abundance of pain and injustice surrounding us. Yet one by one, our students remind us that the last word has certainly not been spoken.
Join me.
Respond with hope.
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