A few years ago, when I was thinking about ideas for my fantasy trilogy Tapestry of Jade I thought of a moment in the young heroines life when the one person who had been kind to her a woman named Hope lay dying in her arms. In a literal and figurative place, I had killed Hope, but Jade still carried a memory of and a desire for hope to be reborn.
Now over time and like most things, the story changed and this scene is no longer in the book, but the idea of the Essential Hope is something that has always guided me. For me that hope is found in my adoption into the family of God. Even when I feel wrapped in despair like a woman in this painting “Dark Copy” by Delynne Lorentzen, my eye is drawn to the glimmer of hope in the light beyond.
Where does your hope lie and what image or word expresses that hope?
the jumping cat 
I really like this quote by Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” I guess for me, hope for the future is always founded in gratitude for all the blessings of the present, and the memories of how God has been faithful in the past.
Maybe hope is always narrative: on one hand, we find reasons to hope from the story that’s already been told, and on the other hand, the story can only exist in the context of a hope that allows for its resolution.
I’d never thought of hope being narrative, but I think you’re right. When I think of the times that I have been lifted with hope or have plunged into despair, it always has a connection to my story or someone else’s.
A smile that lights up the eyes or a painting with extravagant strokes and bright colours. Or maybe a dancer dancing when no one is watching.
And I agree with a narrative idea of hope: a hope that tells and enlightens a story.