Faith, hope and charity

Overheard on the radio today:   "Faith-filled words produce faith, fear-filled words produce fear".   While driving along quiet country roads in Massachusetts and New York State, I found myself reflecting not only on these words but also the values to which I originally dedicated this blog:  faith, hope and charity. 

Faith is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "complete trust and confidence in somebody or something".   Hope is "a feeling of trust, or an expectation and desire for something particular to happen".  Finally, charity is "love of humankind". 

During the uncertainties of life, especially when there is no clear solution, as is often the case with chronic illness, it is easy to cast aside these three qualities.  How is it possible to have faith, when your previous approach to life is no longer feasible, there is no cure, and treatments often only have a small chance of working?   How is it possible to hope, when there appears to be only the certainty of a life so different from what you had imagined?   How is charity possible, when your own misfortune seems to be absorbing all of your strength and energy?  

But by slightly altering our perspective, we can indeed rediscover faith, hope and charity.   We can have faith that while the primary circumstances which we face in our life may not immediately change, we can slowly begin to reshape our life in a way which gives us happiness and contentment.    Hope may return as we glimpse moments of joy, thru the sunlight wafting through our bedroom window, the birds outside, the changing patterns of clouds, or a kind act from a neighbor or friend.  

And charity?   It may help to think of it not as something we "do", but rather as a feeling poured to others.   We can take the time to give a word of encouragement, to those who come into our lives, whether it be a clerk in a grocery store, a busy doctor, or even on-line friends who face similar circumstances.  

It is amazing to sit back and see who is brought into our lives, to give us the opportunity to express faith, hope and charity.   On the second day of this journey across the United States, I was testing out my new DSLR camera, and pulled over to the side of the highway, oblivious to the fact that the beautiful scenery happened to be right in the middle of a construction zone.  

A few minutes later, while driving along, content after my spree of picture taking, I see lights of a state trooper's vehicle in my rearview mirror.   Fortunately, he kindly forgave my failure to notice the work zone, and asked to look at my pictures.   As we were talking, he asked if I had a website, and I mentioned my blog.  As I was writing down the address, it turned out that his daughter had ME/CFS, and that he was very familiar with the debilitating effects of this particular chronic illness.   What are the odds?

One could say (as one friend did) that the odds were 100 million to 1.   Or perhaps we can recognize the fact that often there is more that we share as fellow human beings than that separates us.   My experience on the side of I-90 W, was that there was love of humankind on both sides of that rolled down window, and that this was possible despite or perhaps because of shared experiences.    Those moments of charity can then give us strength to hope and to have faith in the possibility of a better life, first emotionally and spiritually, and then in the end, physical improvement as well.  

Tragedy, disappointments,  uncertainties do not necessarily imply more tragedy, more disappointments, more uncertainty.   Today, on September 11th, (or rather yesterday, as I look down at my computer's clock and realize we are now in September 12th), we can reflect not only on the lives lost to our nation 13 years ago, but also on the greater charity and love of country which such a tragedy caused.   God bless the families so affected, and may God bless all who face tragedy or suffering of any kind, and may we be thankful that this day passed in peace, and for all the times of uncertainty which lead us along the path to enlightenment, to greater faith, hope and charity.