JMJ
In middle and high school, every time we had mock awards, I would always get voted “Most Musical.”
Translation: I was a band nerd.
By the time I was in fourth grade, I already knew I wanted to play the clarinet in band, which I couldn’t even join until sixth grade. When I finally got to join, I absolutely loved it. It was all my ten year old self had imagined it would be, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Each spring, our band teacher would bring in a representative from Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, which, if you aren’t familiar with it, is an internationally known and attended camp for the arts - music, dance, theater, painting, etc. From the first year I learned about this camp, I wanted to go. The only problem was the cost, so I would have to get a pretty decent scholarship if I wanted to go. So every year, when the representative would come in, I would play for him the most impressive piece I could in hopes of getting a big enough scholarship to attend Blue Lake.
Each year, when I would get my envelope in the mail a few weeks after my audition, I would ravenously rip it open to see if I would finally get to go to Blue Lake. For the first three years, I was met with scholarships that were generous, but still not quite enough for me to be able to go. At the end of my ninth grade year, however, I saw a jump in the scholarship I was offered, and thought for sure that this would be the year that I would finally get to go.
The answer from my mom, however, was still no. I was so disappointed, because I thought for sure that the increase in my scholarship would do it. But I had to set it aside, and accept for the fourth year in a row that it wouldn’t happen.
Fast forward to a few weeks later, and we got another letter in the mail. They were offering an additional discount if I signed up by a certain date for camp. Again, I begged my mom, and again, she said no. But I was determined now, so I asked her, “If I can raise the rest of the money, can I go?” She said yes, fully expecting me to not be able to raise the almost one grand that was remaining to cover the cost of this camp. But I had hope that this would work out, and I remember telling my mom, “If God wants me to go, He’ll make it happen.”
So, nervous but unashamed, I walked into our local donut shop after school one day and asked them if they would be interested in sponsoring me to help me get to camp. Legally I was too young to work (and as this donut shop was run by cops, they weren’t about to pay me under the table) but they worked with me to schedule a day for me to play my clarinet there for a few hours and take tips from whoever wanted to donate as they came in to get their donuts. People were very generous and made many donations, and even the cops running the donut shop gave me a very kind donation at the end of the day. What really made everything come together, though, was when a member of a scholarship committee walked through the door. The deadline had just passed for the scholarship she was on the committee for, and no one had applied for it. When she saw me there, she came right up to me and told me to fill out an application. Even though it was past the deadline, she pulled some strings and got me the scholarship, securing my way to attend Blue Lake that summer.
In one day, the Lord provided me a way to do something that I had been hoping to do for years. I truly believe that a big part of the reason that God made Blue Lake work for me was to show both my mom and me the importance of childlike faith and hope in Him. It served as a reminder that the Lord isn’t afraid to work according to our faith in our lives - when we show up with great faith, He can respond in great ways. The build up of having to wait four years to get to go to this camp also served as a reminder of the importance of trying again and having hope, even when it seems like nothing could change.
This Sunday’s Mass readings (which are some pretty great ones) are another great reminder of the importance of hope in our lives. The second reading, from Romans, draws our attention in a particular way, to the hope of the world to come:
“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…” -Romans 8:18-19 (RSVCE)
The reading for this Sunday goes on through verse twenty-three, but these first two verses can very well root us in the hope that the Lord wants us to experience. St. Paul reminds us that the life of the world to come is by far greater than anything we could imagine or experience here on this Earth. It can be very easy to get overwhelmed and fall into discouragement or despair. I understand completely when St. Paul, in the next verse, says, “creation waits with eager longing…” Our hearts are not made for this world - it’s natural to long for Heaven, for a more perfect union with God, because it’s what we’re made for. This is where we find our hope - the hope of what’s to come.
When this world tells us that there’s no point, we are reminded that we are running a race towards eternity with our Heavenly Father. When we come to realize that this world has no lasting happiness for us, we can call to mind the promise of a new Heaven and a new Earth with no more mourning or sorrow:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new.” -Revelation 21:4-5
This is what we have to look forward to. This is what’s waiting for us on the other side of this life - something greater than we could ever imagine or understand. God invites us to keep our eyes focused on Him, on what He has promised us, when discouragement and despair threaten to take over. Despair is one of the worst traps we can fall into, because it prevents us from seeing the point or importance of continuing on and trying again when we fail or face a difficult situation. In other words, it blinds us to hope. If I would have given up hope on attending Blue Lake, I wouldn’t have found a way to go, and I wouldn’t have gotten to see the Lord work in the ways that He did. The same goes for when we are tempted to let go of hope in our spiritual lives. The devil doesn’t want us to stay focused on the good things ahead, so he tries to hide it from us. But the Lord reminds us that we can have confidence in Him and His promise, and that no matter what we face in this life, our hope for what’s to come can always be stronger and will not leave us disappointed:
“... we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…” -Hebrews 6:18-19 (RSVCE)
Seize your hope. Let it anchor you. Remember that there is nothing in this world, good or bad, that is worth comparing to what is waiting for us.
Stay close to Him and have faith!
-Brandy
Scripture quotations in this post are taken from the Douay-Rheims translation unless otherwise noted.