Hope

"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what he can already see?  But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently." - Romans 8:23-25

Emily Dickinson wrote a poem comparing hope to the song of a bird:

Hope is the thing with feathers  
That perches in the soul,  
And sings the tune without the words,  
And never stops at all,  
   
     And sweetest in the gale is heard;          
And sore must be the storm  
That could abash the little bird  
That kept so many warm.  
   
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,  
     And on the strangest sea;         
Yet, never, in extremity,  
It asked a crumb of me.

For the Christian the hope that perches in our soul is the Holy Spirit singing His song of redemption and the promise of eternal life with Him where every tear will be wiped away and all things shall be made new.  We don't need to know the "words" when the peace of God reigns in our heart.

I am grateful that I can sing a song of hope in the midst of gray skies if I do not lose heart.