The Muscle of Hope

I recently heard an interview with the poet and author Ross Gay. I was particularly intrigued by his book Inciting Joy.Ross made a practice of noticing one thing every day—one moment when he experienced delight—and then wrote about it. He did this every day for a year!

He said at first it was hard, finding something every single day. But then, the more he did it, the easier it got. And the easier it got, the more he began to experience delight in his everyday life. It was everywhere! He said it’s like a muscle that you have to exercise. But once you build it up—life feels more joyful.

This made me wonder about other spiritual muscles… particularly in this day and age, the spiritual muscle of hope. As humans, we’re really good at noticing the things that divide us, the things that make us angry. But what if we who follow Jesus took a different approach?

The poet and artist William Blake once said, “We become what we behold.”

Which raises the question: What are we beholding? What’s capturing our attention? Are we giving an inordinate amount of attention to the things that make us angry? Are we giving an inordinate amount of attention to the things that divide? Are we dwelling on the things that irritate us? Or are we giving our attention to the things that give us hope, the things that bring us joy—God’s presence in the everyday?

Today, I invite you to join me in engaging in this simple—yet profound—practice. Build that spiritual muscle. Notice where it is that you are finding hope. Notice where it is that you are finding delight. And notice where it is that you are seeing Christ in this sometimes heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, but often beautiful and delightful world.

Let us pray:  God of grace, we don’t have to look far to notice your presence in the everyday. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day, so distracted by the headlines in the news, that our senses are dulled and we miss the beauty, joy, and delight all around us. Help us to pay attention. Empower us to notice. Surprise us this day with your grace. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.