Finding Hope in Difficult Times! 

This weekend I decided it is time to clean my bathroom vanity.  The vanity has many drawers.  There is one drawer in the bottom of the vanity that caught my attention.  It is a drawer I have not accessed in over three years.  This drawer contains all my old medicine from when I was receiving chemotherapy treatment.  After three years I finally cleaned out the drawer!  I know it may be hard to believe that I have not cleaned this drawer in over three years (in fact I am a little embarrassed to admit this)!  But I had my reasons.

When I finished chemotherapy I never wanted to go back to that place.  I never wanted to relive those memories.  I wanted to wipe my hands clean and run! I did not want to see my scarves or bag I would carry to treatment or the medicine I would have to take!  I wanted to close the drawer and never access it again.  I wanted to pretend that it never occurred, but in fact it was a huge part of my life.  And it helped to make me the person I am today.

Many people who have never received chemotherapy treatment can relate.  Maybe there is a time in your life or an event that occurred that you never want to relive.  You want to run and never look back.  But sometimes we must go back… to clean it out so we can make room.  Just like the drawer.  I had to clean out the drawer and throw out the old memories so that I could make room for happiness.    

While I was cleaning the drawer and throwing out all the old medicine I discovered at the bottom of the drawer a necklace with the inscription “hope.”  Despite all I went through and all the traumatic experiences from the chemotherapy, hope was always there.  Hope for a better day.  Hope for the future.  Hope to be cured.  Today, the only item I kept from the drawer is the necklace with the hope inscription, and the drawer if filled with happy items!

There is always a lesson to be learned with every experience.  No matter what, we must always have hope.  Hope is there.  Hope is present.  Sometimes we may have to dig a little deep to find the hope!   

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