A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

The above is a line from the timeless ‘O Holy Night’, my favourite Christmas carol. I’ve always found that those particular lyrics have a way of buoying up deflated hope especially as the music swells on the chorus. A song of Hope.

When I was approached a few weeks ago to write on the topic of hope in the midst of uncertainty, I reflected on the personal lessons I had learnt as I navigated the rocky terrain of this unprecedented year as well as health challenges. Little did I know that our world would be rocked on its axis even more in a few short weeks. Three days ago, most of England entered Tier 4 restrictions which is essentially the same thing as lockdown – this would be our third in this bumpy ride of a year – because of a new variant of COVID-19 which is now prevalent in England. Christmas plans and hopes were shattered as stay-at-home orders went out across the nation and at least 40 countries banned travellers from the UK. Dark and menacing clouds of uncertainty hangs heavy in the air.

Our hope has been deflated this year in many ways. Humanity is weary; from battling our usual challenges as well as a seemingly unending war with an unseen virus that is ravaging our world. If there was ever a time that we could all do with a ‘thrill of hope’ now is the time. We need dawn now and we need it to break through in a glorious way.

Maybe you’re also under tight restrictions due to the pandemic or perhaps it’s a health condition or another personal situation that has you looking for a chink of light in the gloom. How can we find hope when everything seems so bleak?

Join me over at Iridescent for the rest of this article.