I actually had such a difficult time with this pattern, which is funny because I felt like I was losing hope in it ever being finished! But I have pressed on because I feel it is a powerful image for these times, of hope arising when things seem like there can be no hope.
The inspiration behind the Hope Arising design is about changing perspectives to find hope in life. During this COVID period of time, which has been a very long period of time, hope and positivity has been hard to come by. Just the other day I read in the news that scientists are losing hope that the world will ever by immune to COVID-19 because of all the new variants. There is quite a few reasons why we can lose hope in the world at the moment.
I feel that sometimes it is easy to confuse hope with optimism. My husband, Graeme, was talking to one of his clients a while ago about hope being so much more powerful than optimism. Optimism can definitely let you down, because not everything is ever going to positively perfect. There is always going to be something that will let you down if you rely on optimism. Hope, on the other hand, is something we can rely on. Because even when we can see no way out of our current situation to get to better times, we can have hope exactly where we are that God has got us in His hands and knows exactly what he is doing.
'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord , thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ' Jeremiah 29:11
In this design I wanted to create a contrast between the dull colours of the birch tree and the vibrant flowers. The vibrant colour represents our hope arising out of the dullness of the situations we can find ourselves in. Let hope arise in our souls as we remember that there is a new perspective in every situation to keep our eyes on the living hope - Jesus.
Here are some more verses on hope to encourage you.
'Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.' Romans 15:13
'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.' Hebrews 6:19
'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.' Hebrews 10:23
'But those who wait [kava - to wait, look for, hope, expect] on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.' Isaiah 40:31
'I wait [kava] for the Lord , my soul waits [kava], And in His word I do hope [yachal - to wait, hope, expect].' Psalms 130:5
I would love to know, what does hope mean to you? Let me know in the comments below!!
Laura from new perspective designs xx
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