Hope is Hard to Carry Alone
Written by Alice Plug-Buist
There’s a story in the Bible where Jesus asked a man who had been disabled for 38 years if he wanted to be healed. Instead of shouting “Yes!”, the man was ready with excuses for why it hadn’t happened yet, and why it likely would never happen. “‘Sir,’ the disabled man replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when an angel stirs up the water. I try to get in, but someone else always goes down ahead of me.’”
Although the disabled man was in a place where healings happened regularly and was now even in the presence of a man who could heal with just a word, in his loneliness he didn’t have it in him to hope that healing was possible for him.
This February, the theme of the TrueCity Conference was “Unexpected Jesus - Awakening to Hope”. It was just what I needed to remind myself that I am not alone as I hope for something better for my vulnerable neighbours, and as I hope for a place of flourishing for every single person in Hamilton, with no one left behind.
My friend, Maggie John (The Baby Depot) was one of the many incredible story tellers at the conference. She spoke frankly about walking through grief, and how we need to lament together. The Bible speaks candidly and hopefully about grief and lament, and Maggie shared many verses to help Christians find hope in the midst of grief together. One Bible verse that comes to mind when thinking about the hard realities my friends and neighbours continue to face is from John 16: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” As Jesus followers, we have comfort knowing the sorrows we currently experience will not last forever. This conviction compels me as a Christian to be a voice of hope in our city when things can feel very hopeless.
Maggie also shared a quote from Mr. Rogers: “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be manageable.” The quote goes on to say, “When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.”
TrueCity is a movement that gathers churches and people together to talk about difficult issues, work through them together, and then step forward united in partnership, not just for their own good, but for the good of the entire city.
When we work through hard realities in our city together rather than letting them separate and divide us, we can carry each other into the pool when the “angel stirs up the water”. When opportunities arise for something better, we can walk together into a hopeful future, as a community and as a united city.
What good things can we unite on today? How can we step forward in hope together in this beautiful city of ours? Hope is hard to carry alone, but TrueCity shows us that together we can make hope manageable in our Hamilton neighbourhood.
Alice Plug-Buist is the Executive Director of Helping Hands Street Mission, member at New City Church, and neighbour in the Sherman Hub.