“Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

+ Romans 5:5

There is a ceramic tile that hangs by my back door not too far from my walking shoes. It states a quote by St. Augustine in simple block type on a white background, “It is solved by walking.” 

I suppose that means I have at least one thing in common with St. Augustine: I am a walker and have been for around 30 years now. Walking helps me think, helps me pray; walking keeps my peace. 

Can hope be found by walking? Regardless, after hearing more bad news about the state of my country, more COVID-19 deaths, the impacts of shutdowns, infringements on religious freedoms, etc., I needed a walk. Normally, a morning walk is my preference, but an afternoon walk would have to do. 

Starting out, I was not consciously looking for hope but the bells from the nearby church chimed out the 4 o’clock hour and my heart surged with gladness. Church bells were free to ring. Hopeful. The temperature was still above freezing, even though it was late, and I was grateful to be out in the fresh air.  

Looking at the beauty around me was another source of gratitude and even hope. Though the trees could not boast even one leaf, they were arrayed in gowns of shimmering ice and snow as the waning light made them sparkle.

Continuing my walk in the brisk air, I noticed lights beginning to illuminate windows as people made preparations for evening meals or returned from their day. Daily life was being lived. Hopeful. One home that I walked by had many cars parked around it, and I remembered it was Thursday, the day a church prayer group met. Hopeful to think a group of people were praying together inside those walls.

The winter shadows were gathering, but I noticed a deer watching me from a wooded area. God’s creatures were still about and thriving. Hopeful.

As I walked back down my own street, I glimpsed one of my neighbors walking back from her next-door neighbor’s home. Should an 80-year-old widow be walking in the ice and snow? Perhaps not, but one widow making a visit to a newly widowed woman in her time of sorrow made me realize that people are really good. People give each other hope, and that, in turn, gives them purpose and hope.

The world is crazy and full of trouble and much too big to comprehend.  Hope comes in smaller ways. Hope is the sound of church bells ringing out, being grateful, God’s beautiful creation, a light in a dark window, people praying together, neighbors caring about each other. 

Perhaps, St. Augustine was correct: “It is solved by walking.”