“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”

Proverbs 13:12

This has been one of those verses that I have had to revisit again and again in 2020. With every setback, disappointment, or cancelation of a plan long awaited for, I have had to turn to this verse and remember that there will be a time where our lives will return to a normality we once knew. So what do we do in the meantime while we wait aimlessly for that day to return? In a world which seems full of much malice, how do we find the ability to keep hoping, to keep trusting, and to move forward? 

I was thinking about the excitement which our team should be living out this week if the Beautifully Flawed retreat was still on the schedule. I personally would be in California probably prepping goody bags, writing notes to all our attendees, and also cooking a meal for our staff and volunteer overview/thank you dinner. Each of those things bring me so much purpose, so much joy. Although I feel the let down that we had to postpone the retreat, I realized that there are still so many reasons to have hope, and there are things that I can still do even though I will not be welcoming the girls to the retreat at this time. For instance, I can still send them each a note this week. It might look a little different, but the value of that note will still make an impact in their lives. I have come to the conclusion that although things are different for so many of us, those are not reasons to prevent us from living a life full of purpose and joy. To be the smile (even if that means drawing it on the outside of your mask!) the world around us needs. We can take every opportunity to display the one universal language we all understand, love.

I was thinking about the perspective of this verse, how the comparison it gives is that, “when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” A tree full of life is a tree that has had to face difficult times, storms which caused its roots to dig down deep, creating a firm foundation so it can grow up strong and full of life. We have all faced a certain amount of storms this year, but it has made us rethink what is important, what is truly valuable, and to have a better understanding of what a need is versus a want. We have learned the value of simplicity, family, health, and work. I do believe that although it’s maybe been hard, if we are willing to step back, we can find lessons we can walk away with in 2020. Find the beauty, the joy, the purpose to keep striving even when it’s hard, because it is producing in you a tree of life. Hard times are never wasted spaces in our lives!

Aloha,

Sarah Hill
Executive Director
Friends of Bethany