New Life'n : Day 30 : Three things to do when your immediate hope is squashed

Not that you noticed, but Days 28 and 29 aren’t here. What happened? Well, I travelled to Haiti for a week, with limited internet and time. I did a good job of writing ahead, but not ahead enough. (Thank you Nester for the Day 27 quote). I told you when I started that I couldn’t make it!…

Committing to just this short-term 31 Days thing makes me hesitate. If I’m disciplined, I have two or three hours a day to do it, except for the frequent crazy days when it’s less. Plus, I’m going to Haiti for seven of the days, with no internet. See—no way, right? The way I am now, the way my time is now, I can’t do it.

My short-term hope was to contribute something daily for 31 straight days. I didn’t get there. Woe is me! I am a loser! I knew I couldn’t do it! I’ll never amount to anything! You can listen to the nattering nabobs of negativity in your head, or you can pause and do three things…

1. Review what you’re hoping for

31 straight days of contributing was only part of what I was hoping for. There was a reason I wanted to write for 31 days…

I have hopes to help and encourage people. I hope to put ideas, stories, and insights that have been in my head for years, into words that open eyes and give a perspective that changes how you see yourself, God, and others.

That hope is still there. It doesn’t depend on any one short term goal.

It’s also possible I could re-examine my hope and decide that it’s over. I could decide that it’s unfulfillable or that it’s not worth it. Seth Godin wrote a helpful little book about knowing the difference between a dip and a dead end; you get thru a dip, you give up on a dead end.

2. Adjust, tweak, rearrange, change the diaper

If needed, change your expectations, your plans, your approach. Be open to learning new things that influence what you’re hoping for. Some hopes are born solid; some start soft and congeal over time.

A potter will pull a lump of clay off his potter’s wheel and start over if it’s not turning out like he planned. That doesn’t mean he’s changed his hope for the pot – he may just need a fresh start to get there.

A dirty diaper doesn’t mean your kid will never be potty-trained. You keep changing diapers. Every diaper change gets you closer to where you’re going to be.

I didn’t reach my hope of contributing for 31 straight days. But, I’ve still got hope for helping people to embrace an encouraging perspective on God, life, and themselves. Why does it have to be 31 days? I have a list of ideas that could go 40 or more days – why not keep going until I’ve said all I have to say? OK, I will! See – adjusting is easy.

3. Keep moving

Take the next step of faith, action, planning, prayer…whatever it is. Do that. Then the next. Don’t forget that waiting can be moving, if you’re waiting on God. Take what you’ve learned and apply it.

Failure and disappointment are great teachers.

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Start at the beginning of 31 Days of Scary Hope: encouragement to go from IS to COULD BE -- HERE.

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