Hope for the Eeyores, the anxious and....those paying attention
The first time I heard Kate Bowler speak, she had me at, “What would it mean for Christians to give up that little piece of the American Dream that says, "You are limitless"? Everything is not possible. The mighty kingdom of God is not yet here. What if 'rich' did not have to mean 'wealthy', and 'whole' did not have to mean 'healed'? What if being the people of "the gospel" meant that we are simply people with good news? God is here. We are loved. It is enough.”― Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved
I mean. Truth is so very sexy.
Google her and you find out that Kate is qualified to speak on the subject of relentless positivity. She has written books on the subject. She is surviving a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis. She's a Canadian academic and is an Associate Professor of the History of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School. She has interviewed the positivity perky pastors among us (and their spouses). She has seen up close and personal the impact of #blessed as a mission statement.
When we study one thing relentlessly, like positivity, it turns out that we often acquire mad skills for concepts that are wildly different - in her case, Kate gets HOPE. Hope, she says is not optimism. Optimism, the American dream of being anything you want to be, acquiring what you need and want if you just work heard enough...and more platitudes often embraced by Christians...is, in her estimation, more about power than hope. It is this thought that our minds are powerful and we can "manifest" success and ward off evil if we just BELIEVE (and use the correct essential oil).
If this brand of Americana does not work for you, welcome.
Optimism, at its root, demands a successful outcome. Hope is more of an orientation than an outcome-driven idea. Optimism is relentless in its positivity; hope is more ambiguous. In the scriptures, it is a fruit of the Spirit, a sign of God's present, a belief that the story is not over...yet. Hope believes that God is still working and good CAN happen without promise that it will happen for me...today, this week, or in my lifetime.
Hope has its own rewards - it makes us more tolerant of living in liminal space - the 'not yet' space that is never marked on our calendars but can fill years and years of time. Hope requires more faith and perhaps a little less commitment to putting one's shoulder to plow ALL THE D@#^$ TIME. Hope allows us to be present with grief and suffering, a bit more empathetic and a lot less demanding of a good redemption story.
I have spent the first six months of 2022 living in the "not yet" space of a cancer diagnosis. The specialist? NOT yet on his calendar, even though it is cool he lives in my city. Clean margins? Two surgeries in...not YET sure of the outcome. The side effects of two invasive surgeries on my leg? Not yet clear on how the skin graft will look in the future (I currently scare small children if my wound peaks out from my pants). Not yet sure if the persistent swelling in my foot and ankle will abate. Not yet positive about whether or not I will be one of the unlucky melanoma patients who end up with it spreading to other parts of the body. Instead, I can hope that God is at work, good CAN happen, it does not have to happen to me in order for me to be faithful to a God who has a lot going on and is working over the expanse of time on behalf of all humanity. This, I can tolerate. This makes sense to me.
There is a Proverb that says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." I am grateful to know the difference - thanks Kate Bowler - between optimism and hope. I am so relieved to not have to carry around the weight of the perpetually positive expectations of others as if it is a measure of faith. "God is here. We are loved. That is enough." (KB)
"I know I'm just a Eeyore, but if you feel sad, I'll be your smile. If you cry, I'll be your comfort. And if someone breaks your heart, we can use mine to live. I'll always be by your side - your Eeyore." Eeyore.
