The Role of Hope
Hope is a hardy thing, and for the farmer, it became this big hopeful light in the lingering uncertain months, pulling a world outside his window closer into the present. After all, he was clinging to the belief that he would one day see his horse again, an idea more than the animal but an affirmation of faith in things unseen, reunions, redemption.
But the community saw through the tenacity of the farmer. Some spoke with words of praise about his resolve. Others whisperingly wondered at his pursuing this in practice. “It has been too long,” they would whisper. They counselled him to replace a loss with another horse. But for the farmer, it was not really a question of replacement but of the paying of a debt that cannot be repaid.
He hung in there during the moments of uncertainty and desperation because of hope. It was that strength that allowed him to keep on going, get up each morning, and gaze out at the horizon. That belief in the possibility of reunion was a strength and gave him endurance, reminding him that even as he lost his loved one, there would still be a door for something beautiful to come back.
