“And we want each one of you to show the same diligence, so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:11-12).
It was a tough life lesson for me that hope is realized through faith and patience. We tend to get this idea that hope is about merely feeling optimistic, but it is not about feelings at all. True hope requires perseverance and taking steps into the unknown. It requires trust in God’s timing and God’s goodness.
An area where I most struggled to hold onto the gift of hope was regarding my vocation. I felt convicted God was leading me to marriage and family, but I was initially worried that a back injury from my teenage years would interfere with my desires for motherhood. Bringing this to the Lord, I experienced a miraculous physical healing through the Eucharist after six years of severe, chronic pain. This was only the beginning of my battle with hope; it was another 10 years before I met my husband. At different points along the way, it was tempting to give up, to follow the lies, to abandon the promise.
My husband David has his own history of battling with hope. Starting at the age of 10, he endured years of watching his mother suffer through cancer, multiple times expecting her to die. By God’s grace, she also experienced miraculous physical healing. He later fell into a decade-long struggle with substance abuse. Though he desired marriage, he knew he was not in a good place to pursue a relationship for much of his 20s. David and I met at a young adult retreat at Saint Meinrad in January 2023, and we quickly discovered that we are better together. At our next visit to Saint Meinrad, he proposed. Our marriage is just a glimpse of what God has in store for us eternally, and I am ever hopeful.
Mikayla Reed, Young Adult