How to Hope in the Middle of Any Crisis

Did you ever think hope could vanish as meaning itself grows thin?

Across cultures and countries, many people sense it.

  • Progress without purpose.
  • Motion without direction.

Life keeps moving, but fewer know why.

That’s why TV channels and streaming platforms replay epic stories again and again.

Stories like The Lord of the Rings.

Frodo Baggins and his companions live day and night in loss, pain, and darkness.

Tolkien enthusiasts adopted the catchphrase “Frodo Lives” to express hope in dark times.

God filled hope

For anyone in despair, three reminders can light up a dismal season.

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How to Hope in the Middle of Any Crisis

Hope: 3 Powerful Strategies to Conquer Life’s Toughest Obstacles

Would you still have hope if the greatest of all tragedies struck you down?

Katherine Wolf does even though, at age 26 to date (now 42), she has survived . . .

  • a catastrophic brain-stem stroke
  • paralysis throughout her body
  • numerous falls with broken bones
  • aneurysm surgery unrelated to her stroke
  • multiple vertebral artery dissections
  • ongoing neurological issues
  • hearing loss
  • blind in the left eye and double vision in the right eye
Hope by Katherine Wolf

In spite of all this, she proclaims hope as she . . .

  • just published her third book, Treasures In The Dark
  • travels nationwide, speaking to thousands
  • sponsors a special-needs summer camp
  • opened a coffee shop staffed by special-needs folks

I heard her speak at a jam-packed Highland Park Presbyterian church service months ago. Her testimony has changed my life.

After reading her books and reflecting on what she says about hope, I see three proven relievers for overcoming despair.

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Hope: 3 Powerful Strategies to Conquer Life’s Toughest Obstacles

How a solar eclipse increases your hope and faith

Everyone is hopeful to see the totality of a solar eclipse.

Hope in solar eclipse
The moon covers the sun/Amanda Carden/Shutterstock

Reminds us of the sun’s immense power. 

Power that is overwhelming yet uniquely toned down by our ocean.

Why is the sun’s power toned down?

Our seawater has an amazing filter that unexplainably accommodates living organisms.

How does this happen? Why does this happen?

Pause just a minute and allow three messages from the solar eclipse to rekindle your faith and hope.

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How a solar eclipse increases your hope and faith

Rising from the Ashes: How to Turn Your Pain into Beauty

Foster and special-needs kids rise above their pain every summer at Skiin’ With The Galilean (SWTG).

The Christian water sports camp shines a light on beauty for everyone involved.

The beauty of hope.

Rise above pain
Jack Bryan rose above Leigh syndrome in 2019 at SWTG/Lake Athens, TX

Hope is in the . . .

  • love of God reflected through volunteers
  • water and sun dancing off inner tubes
  • ZUP boards and smiling faces

Like a Lego kit, SWTG offers broken kids valuable pieces to rebuild their lives.

Three pieces that fix broken lives work well for all of us.

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Rising from the Ashes: How to Turn Your Pain into Beauty

Three ways a father can supercharge kids with starry hope

A seven-year-old boy laughed one summer night when his father held him high to the stars.

“Look, son!”

Just then, a white flame skirted across the astonished heavens.

And then another star skipped across and dipped into the lake.

“What’s happening, Dad?”

“Shooting stars. They show up every summer, usually late July and August. It’s really something.”

Decades have passed, but I’ll never forget that night when Dad held me to the stars.

Father gives starry hope
Father and son walking on stars/Jose-Luis Saez Martinez/EyeEm

No doubt, I have many memories with Claude Blaising.

But that night was special. It reminds me of three things kids need most in a dad.

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Three ways a father can supercharge kids with starry hope