Harvesting Hope

A little bit of

heaven

Can be gleaned from

every day.

—Sue

There are days when hope seems hidden in a bramble bush, its fruits invisible to our harried hearts. During those times, it’s important to turn our faces to the light, stay in the

present moment, and look for outer and inner glimmers of grace and hope. Similar to the pansy a friend and I saw growing out of a concrete curb, I once found hope in the crevasse of a beautiful Colorado boulder, where a six-inch pine sapling was growing. Obviously, the seed had fallen in a rocky, hard place, taken root in spite of its environment, and was sweetly—and a bit cockily, it seemed to me— basking in the sun for us to enjoy and learn from. I hope I can remember that tiny tree the next time I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place and wonder how I can possibly bloom there.

Excerpted from How to Stay Upbeat in a Beat Down World by Sue Patton Thoele. Available on Amazon.