Is there any hope at all?

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 364

     There are days when darkness seems to loom. There are days when this world seems to be without hope. Without good. Without love. There are days when I feel heartache jabbing into my sides. Pressing down heavy on my shoulders. Today started off that way. I woke up this morning to this:

     I sat there. Crying. For birds I had never seen or met. And I found myself wondering, is there any hope at all? Fast forward to tonight. We had dinner at Patty and AJ's house. After dinner, we put a show on for the kids. And Matt, AJ, Patty, and I sat on the couch, staring at our phones. I got up to use the restroom, and when I came out and looked at what we were doing, I was seriously sick. For two reasons. One, it made me sick to think how much time we were wasting with our kids. These are precious, precious, precious years. We can't ever get this time back. And we were sitting there. Wasting it. Letting it slip through our fingers like sand. Two, I realized...Casey, Adelyn, Tobin, and Sophia are the future. They have to live here. Their children have to live here. Their children's children. What will the world look like then? What will it be? Will there be any good left in it at all? In order to have hope for good in the future, we must teach goodness now, in the present. In order to have hope for love in the future, we must teach love now, in the present. So, we got off our phones. We turned off the television. And we played. Maybe it seems silly. Maybe it seems like a stretch, but when it comes down to it, what teaches a child more about love? Us sitting stone faced staring at screens, or playing hide and go seek? 

     Is there any hope at all? Yes. There is hope. It's called love. When the dark seems to snuff out the light, we must shine brighter. When the bad seems to outweigh the good, we must do even more good. When hatred seems to prevail, we must love more deeply. 

     Tonight, I'm thankful for time with my children. I'm thankful for wake-up calls. I'm thankful that I can teach my children about love. I'm thankful for hope. And good. And above all else, for love. I'm thankful that watching the video about the birds this morning confirmed what it is I'm supposed to be doing throughout the next 365 days. I'm excited. And I'm hopeful. For that, I'm thankful.