A Glimmer of Hope Becomes Perfect Brightness

A Glimmer of Hope - Abstract Design

by Exper Giovanni Rubaltelli

One of my closest friends just graduated from college with a BA in English. This determined woman has five grown children, a chronic illness, and during the course of her college career (most of which was accomplished with children still at home), she underwent intense chemotherapy for a particularly nasty form of breast cancer. More recently, she was diagnosed with cancer of the eye. Despite this and other adversities, diploma in hand, she is now embarking upon her master's degree.

How I admire my friend's courage and resilience! Every time clouds of darkness enter her life, threatening to extinguish the light that burns so brightly within her, she refuses to be vanquished. Through faith and prayer, she continues to press forward. As one of her close confidants, I am aware that not once has she allowed herself to let go of that little light of hope in her heart. Occasionally it has dimmed for a period of time, but never has it stopped burning.

Observing this great woman, and thinking about what she has accomplished in the past several years, I see more clearly how even a glimmer of hope can be turned into a perfect brightness of hope. "I am able to make you holy, " the Lord promises (D&C 60:7), and we can be the recipients of that promise by turning to Him in all things, making Him the foundation of our lives. When things don't go our way, we can remind ourselves that life is a period of experience, growth, and testing. We can be patient with the Lord and with ourselves as we go through the ups and downs of life. "In your patience possess ye your souls," we are told (Luke 20:19), and becoming the people God wants and needs us to be does take patience. This patience comes by way of faith in God and His plan...accompanied by the enduring hope that such faith makes possible.

I am reminded of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit:

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all" (Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit).

My friend is one of the most Real people I know. One day, I feel sure that she will achieve her goal and become a college English teacher, but already she has become much more than that to me. She is an "example of the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12), a living manifestation for me and others of pressing forward against all odds, with a perfect brightness of hope.

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men" (2 Nephi 31:20).

Thanks, M. You are one of my heroes.

=)