Hope in God
“But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.” – Luke 1:7
“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid,’ Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard.” – Luke 1:13
Barren. Desert. Conditions in which nothing can live. If I could choose an image of hopelessness, this would be it. And if I could choose one area of my life that has felt completely despairing, it would be dating.
I can think of a million jokes when it comes to trying to find love after 40. I can offer a few anecdotes of past attempts to make people, who inquire about my marital status, feel good that they’re not in my position. I’ll laugh off old maid and spinster jabs. That’s how I’ve been trying to manage THIS THING that I’ve had no idea how to manifest, but despite the quick comebacks and comedy gained from my failures, there is a lump in my throat that constantly reminds me of that which doesn’t feel funny. Hopelessness, in anything, is not funny. It is painful.
It's painful to believe that no matter my attempts at finding love, I’ll never have it, so why try? Why pray? Why would God bother with something so trivial? God “bothers” because we are not trivial – we are His beloved. He bothers because He is bigger than our hopelessness. In Elizabeth’s barrenness, he created life. In despair, He is our very HOPE.
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah,” the angel said to him. “Because your prayer has been heard.”
So in my despair, I pray. I pray for the grace to hope and the courage to be open to God’s miracles.
Is there something that you have been unable to pray about? What is keeping you from bringing it to God?
Anna Gonda