Written by the staff at The Fuller Center for Spiritual Formation.
Years ago, a mentor shared with me a time when he felt hopeless. He had experienced a deep family loss and shared this loss with a student of his. This student listened and told him he would hold onto hope for him. His student became a hope holder for his teacher when he was hopeless. Hope was not lost. Hope was held in the hands of another, in love, for the sake of someone else. My mentor shared that knowing someone else held onto hope, even when he could not, encouraged and strengthened him in this season. Hope holds, even when we cannot hold it. It holds through friendship, through our faith communities, through neighbors, and through the centuries of saints. We hold others as we listen deeply, as we use our time for good, as we enter others’ sufferings, when we think of someone and express our availability and care. And as we hold hope for others, we are reminded that Jesus holds each one of us.
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. [Romans 15:1-2]
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