Hope and a Quick note on Relationships

A message of Hope.
Why do people run from it?
Do we really think,
Is it possible
That it's so hard to believe
Perhaps I am too much of a believer in grace
Yet I put my hope
In a rolled away stone
In the belief that my death,
Those who die of cancer, car accidents, heart attacks, old age, and others
Are dancing on streets that are golden.
Why is it too good to be true?
I admit that I've had my doubts and my struggles.
There have been times when I've wanted to run
From faith, from belief.
Yet still,
I tear up when people talk about heaven
No more death or tears.
It's enough for me to make me hold to the cross.
You see
It's not about religion, or exclusion, about being right about gay rights, or about abortion.
It's about a simple man
On a cross.
It's about an empty grave.
I'm not expecting everyone to believe what I believe
I'm only hoping that instead of seeing me as
A right-wing activist Christian,
To be considered
As a simple woman
Who makes mistakes
And admits she needs something to save herself from herself.
I choose for that to be Christ.
If you don't want Christians to judge you,
Hold back from judging them.
We are not so different.
Simple.
Not impossible.
Perhaps hope is something we all need.
Perhaps hope is something found in many different places.


Other notes:

One of the beautiful things about relationships is humility. It is being able to be upset and grouchy and tired at each other during the day and then to talk later, cut through all the crap, and say, "I love you. I'm sorry. Sometimes I'm not very good at this." Sometimes. Love, I think, is 80 percent humility. Because in loving someone it is pretty much a requirement that we be weak, vulnerable, that we let our defenses down, that we let someone tell us like it is, that we face up to telling them like it is with the risk of provoking anger or frustration. I'm learning how to do this with wisdom and grace. It's always easy to say something hard in a mean way, but it's difficult to find a way to think through the words that would invite intimacy as opposed to scarcasm or some other harsh response. I am thankful for the fruitfulness of humility in my relationship.