HOPE DEFERRED

HOPE DEFERRED

words & photography by Ashley Maisonet

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)

I’ve heard my pastor quote this verse in his messages more times than I can count in this last year and somehow it’s only begun to resonate with my soul in the last few weeks. It’s funny how things seem to make more sense when you’re coming out on the other side of something. Hindsight 20-20, is it? The thing I love about hope is that it’s irrespective of religion, race, culture, societal status, and environment. Every living being has the opportunity to hold on to this invisible lifeline and no one can rob you of your longings and your desire to see them through.

What do we do while we wait for our hopes to be fulfilled?

How do we care for our souls and nurture our hearts so that the “waiting” doesn’t sicken us?

What will it look like when our longings are finally fulfilled?

I think I’ve asked myself these questions in different ways for the past two years. There’s tension in the “meanwhile”. There’s a fight to stay present and fruitful while attempting to keep your faith alive for the things not yet seen.

I learned a few things along the way that I intend on implementing in my next hopeful wait. Part of me feels like there’s no way to fully avoid our hearts from getting ‘‘sick’’; sickness creates need for a Healer. It’s what we acknowledge and do about our sickness that makes the difference. I have to be transparent with you, reader, if I expect you to trust that my experience gave me some sort of knowledge and wisdom for the future. So, here is some unsolicited advice...

In my times of waiting, I have found that there’s always something greater behind the scenes that need my attention. Most recently, God used my “sick waiting heart” to show me places of distrust, discontentment and a mindset of defeat. Sure, there were natural responses in play as I awaited the things I yearned for to come alive, but He used my waiting to show me that I was making myself even more sick by not tending to some underlying issues. It wasn’t just affecting my health, it was stifling my growth.

“…but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life”—I don’t believe that we magically spring up with life when our desires our fulfilled. I’ve seen many people sit in disappointment even while obtaining the things they desired most. That’s because a “tree of life” only flourishes from healthy root systems buried in hidden places—

those healthy roots represent your character, faithfulness, values, integrity, your dependency on God and your obedience throughout the journey.

And what if there are roots that are not-sohealthy? If we examine the parallel between botany and human life, it’s clear that there is an entire process of its own to recover from rotting roots.

What am I saying with all of this?

I’m proposing to you that your time of waiting with prolonged hopes was never made for you to lay in bed withering away in misery. The sickness of your heart allows for a greater opportunity to find healing and health while your roots strengthen and bury themselves deep into the ground.

"Whatever you’re hoping for, trust that your journey to a “longing fulfilled” has more to offer your internal world than you realize."

Photo by Ashley Maisonet

Photo by Ashley Maisonet

Photo by Ashley Maisonet

Ashley Maisonet

Photo by Ashley Maisonet

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we all have a choice to either nourish our faith or starve it.

Friend, if you’ve lost faith along the way, do everything in your power to stir it up again. Find people who believe with you even on the days you don’t. Allow your heart to be examined. Find those “weeds” that need to be removed and yank them out completely. Embrace the process and allow yourself to be better for it.

What will you do with what you have when it’s not what you want?

Build and prepare. Dig and sow. Water and wait.

When hope finally triumphs and your longings are fulfilled, you’ll find that the road behind you equipped you with the capacity to receive and sustain the things you’ve yearned for.

Stay hopeful. Don’t lose faith along the way. There’s more hope on the other side of your endurance.