Hope From an Old Newspaper

Do you know that part in movies...

where the character is reading a dictionary or watching TV, and suddenly something is personally directed to him/her? Some guy on TV says, "I like your red shirt, Joe," or "Someone's at your door, Mary," or something creepy like that?

This just happened to me!!

I was reading through old newspapers for work and stopped short at this little paragraph that came out of nowhere:

If you can't read the text very well, this is what it says: 

"The Path of Life. --Don't be discouraged if, in the outset of life, things do not go smoothly. It seldom happens that the hopes we cherish for the future are realized. The path of life, in the prospect, appears smooth and level; but when we come to travel it, we find it all up hill, and generally rough enough. The journey is a laborious one; and whether poor or wealthy, high or low, we shall find it to our disappointment, if we have built on any other calculation. To endure it with as much cheerfulness as possible, and to elbow your way through the great crowd; 'hoping for little, yet striving for much,' is, perhaps, the best plan." 

I looked up. Is this a prank? I thought. God, is that You? I know that it's from the St. Louis Daily Evening Gazette on May 3, 1844.  But it seemed to be addressed directly to me. 

There is only one phrase that I disagree with: "hoping for little, yet striving for much." If you are not hoping for much then you are not believing in much....basically you are leaning towards "hopeless" rather than "hopeful."

Hope is a Christlike Attribute. To quote Preach My Gospel, 

"When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement (PMG, p. 117)."

I think the article does not mean to say Be hopeless with low expectations and a glass half-empty. It means that we should not expect life to be perfect, smooth-running, and void of trials; and be put-out when something happens, that your situation is absolutely unfair. Trials are going to come, and if we expect differently, we are disillusioned! What matters is how we choose to act when these situations come. 

Especially when they come often. 

Or all at once.

And since my blog seems to be a confession fiesta, I'll admit that Hope is one of my weakest Christlike Attributes. So maybe you can help me out....what do you do to increase your hope? What do you Hope for?

I cannot end without asserting that our true source of Hope is our Lord, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement. I may struggle with Hope from time to time, but I do have a firm hope that I will one day live with my Heavenly Father again, and my Savior and Redeemer made it possible. 

Some testimonies I love about trials and hope (Click ONE to read/listen to right now!)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - "Lord, I Believe"

President Thomas S. Monson - "Be of Good Cheer"

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - "The Hope of God's Light"

Elder Neil L. Andersen - "Trial of Your Faith"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland again - "Like a Broken Vessel"