Hope.

These tulips are almost at the end of their life and yet, they are still so amazingly beautiful to me.

Today is Easter.

I’m not really celebrating in the traditional sense. I’ve got a bit of a sore throat, so I’ve given myself permission to rest and not spread my germs. I’ve been in bed most of the morning, just being still. I might take a short walk later—get a little fresh air—but today feels quiet.

And honestly… I don’t mind that.

There are so many things I love about Easter.

The hope it brings.
The way it arrives right alongside spring—my favorite season.

Everything feels like it’s waking up again. Which helps to wake me up and shake the winter off my soul as well.

I can start planning flowers—spring and summer blooms (HOORAY).
I can get back into my little garden.
And walking this time of year—even in the pollen-soaked South—is just the BEST.

But today, Easter Sunday, I found myself thinking more deeply about hope.

What is it, really?

I looked it up, and one definition stopped me in my tracks:

A feeling of trust.

Just let that sit for a moment.

If you are someone who believes in God—a loving God—then that idea of trust can feel incredibly comforting.

The sense that there is a will bigger than our own…
that we are not in charge of the universe…

There is something so powerful in that.

I can feel it in my body when I let myself lean into it.

Now, if I’m honest…

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to fix things.
Control things.
Take charge when everything starts to go sideways.

And life has a way of going sideways sometimes.

But this idea of letting go… and trusting…

Trusting that there is something—or Someone—gently pointing the way forward in a loving direction…

That feels like hope to me.

So yes, today I’m talking about God—on a day that is deeply spiritual for Christians.

And I’ll be honest about this too…

I’ve had my struggles with God.
But lately, something is shifting in me.

My relationship with God is changing as I age.

It feels less like reaching up and begging…
and more like a quiet conversation I return to throughout the day.

I find myself asking people how they navigate certain parts of their lives…

And when they say, with a kind of quiet certainty,
“I ask God… and He answers,”

Well, there is something about that that feels… exciting.

Inviting.

Possible.

A simple, repeated offering:

I trust you.

And what I’m discovering is this…

That kind of trust feels different than anything else I’ve known.

Deeper.
Steadier.
More spacious.

Maybe that’s what hope really is.

Not a wish.
Not a plan.

But a willingness to trust…that we are being held and guided in ways we cannot always see.

Today, on this quiet Easter…

that feels like enough. I hope you feel that hope stirring inside of you today. Funny thing about hope. It has been there all along.

A Sacred Pause

Maybe today isn’t about having answers. Maybe it’s just about whispering, I trust you…and taking one small step forward.