Hope

We fill Bonnie's living room with laughter, impassioned conversation, the sparking back and forth of different views; iron sharpening iron. I love this group of women; their hearts and their minds.

As my granddaughters grow up, it is women such as these that I hope they learn from and model themselves on; women who express themselves artistically, who have a deep faith forged in the fires of life, and who never consider age a reason to stop thinking or loving passionately.

Tonight our assignment was "hope." I have learned to come expectant and I never leave disappointed. The range of interpretation and reflection that one word can elicit amazes me and as one by one the women share their pieces of writing, our emotions run the gamut from laughter to tears. There are rich gifts in this group of writers and our monthly time together nurtures and calls out more from one another than we knew we had inside us.

Vi sits across from me beside her daughter, Sue. Vi is beautiful, elegant, funny, witty and has lived life ("pushing the envelope of three score years and ten" as she puts it) to the full. Honey blond hair frames her face in soft waves, and her make-up is tasteful, enhancing her gray-blue eyes. Her nails are always nicely manicured and painted and she dresses in flattering colours and styles. She has a vibrant, youthful spirit and her writing captures us with its humour and sometimes its earthiness.

As she opens a spiral notebook and reads what she wrote on "hope," I know that I will ask if I can share it on Whatever He Says. She said "Yes!"

(By the way, Faith Girl, who is a team member on this blog, is Vi's granddaughter. There are three generations of writers so far in their family, and a fourth coming up).

Hope

By Vi Gann

Hope is a four letter word
Love is a four letter word

Like branches of a tree, they are intrinsically entwined--sustained by one root

I am pushing the envelope of three score years and ten and sometimes I sit and wonder what did I do with my life?

How will my OBIT read? I hope it will say that I loved much and laughed often; that I gave what I could to the less fortunate and campaigned for just causes and hopefully made a difference.

There is so much in life to understand--like man's inhumanity to man--the way wars are waged, with their dreadful toll--the cause of pain and tears.

What did I learn along the years--I just learned to live--when it's time to die.

My hope for the future is that the generation to come will inherit a world of "Green," Peace, and Joy.