To be transparent, and forthright, this post didn't come from watching my fine feathered friends hanging out on the telephone wire. It happened on my way to Springfield the other day. My wife and I were travelling in our staid, very plaid Toyota van to Evangel College to see my grandson Elijah. We'd just left Branson when I saw a sleek, low slung car in my rear view mirror. It hadn't been there two minutes before, so I knew it was travelling somewhere close to supersonic. It was coming so fast, I couldn't see it's hood badge, and when it went past us, I just sighed. It was an early model Acura NSX, black, and well maintained. I sighed because the NSX is one of my favorite cars. I've wanted one since they first came out in 1990. The first time I saw one was in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace. It was perched atop a huge bank of progressive slots on the way to the buffet, and it never failed to catch my attention. From that day on, I've longed to own one, but I knew I never would. If you go online you can find some selling for $11,000 to $25,000. That is a ton of money for this old man, and I can find much better things to do with that kind of money. Still, it doesn't hurt to dream.
That's what caused me to wonder if sparrows hope. Not that I ever hoped for an Acura NSX, but I guess I've always dreamed of owning one. What is the difference between hoping, wishing, and dreaming? Are we the only species on earth who hope? Do sparrows hang out on the telephone wire hoping a bug will fly by? Do they wish for more bugs? Do they dream about bugs? From everything I can tell, we seem to be the only beings on our planet who hope. I know that my dog dreams, but I don't think she hopes. Hope is something formidable that can overcome fear, or override caution. Hope drives athletes, pushing them past their physical abilities. Hope moves doctors to heal, artists to create, musicians to make music, and every form of aspiration we are capable of exhibiting. Hope causes us to rise above adversity, even when there is no plausible reason for us to rise.
Hope is able to make time of no importance. Wishing is empty, and dreaming is about as useless as wishing. BUT, Hope...moves even the faint of heart to imagine what it could be to hold that for which we long for. Love and hope are often found walking hand in hand. It is easy to love what we long for, and long for what we love. I can't help but wonder if a male sparrow spends it's life hoping for that one little girl sparrow it saw four years ago. Yet, I've seen young men hope for the romance of the young woman they met while in High School. Little girls used to put things into their 'hope' chests for the day they got married. Time passes by in a cruel race, but hope can make its passing meaningless once we have what we hoped for.
Once again, I come to the conclusion that human beings are a marvelous creation, far more valuable than sparrows. We are more than our passions, and more than our base desires, and more than our hunger. Hope is a gift from God to take us beyond ourselves, to see eternity, and to make a path of joy through this present vale.
While I may never own an Acura NSX, I've had so much more than I could have ever hoped for.
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