Margaret Simon hosts our first 2026 Spiritual Journey reflections with an invitation to share our One Little Word – one word to guide our days in the coming year. Join us!
fifteen years ago
I am in our living room. My older son
stands before me, defiant. We
have struggled for over a year
with his lies, with what we dread
has become addiction to alcohol. Time,
effort, emotional calories…MIP
citation (minor in possession
– of alcohol)– lost his college
scholarship with a repeat offense–
anger management issues,
lack of coping skills, family
relationships fracture… We
seek counseling, seek
guidance– how to manage
emotions, boundaries…warn
him: This is it.
Defiant, he swears
I can change. Me: I hope so.
Defiant, he sneers:
But you don’t believe in me.
image courtesy of pixaby
That killed me. Even today, fifteen years later, I can sink into sadness, remembering this scene.
Since then I have wrestled with hope– and how hope intersects with belief…and belief in- someone or something.
So far, what I’ve learned is:
Belief is the acceptance that a statement is true, that something exists.
Belief in someone or something is about faith in potential.
Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out. (Václav Havel)
Fifteen years ago, I did not know if my son had the potential to change.
But I was never in doubt that it was worth trying no matter what.
I am grateful –so grateful, that he found his way.
Today, I can say to him: Not only do I believe in you, I believe you.
I have always and will always say: I hope so.
But…my one little word is not hope.
Hope is hard. Hope asks you to go all in, even as it torments you with the possibility that things won’t turn out well. Hope requires action – blood, sweat, tears… oh, the tears. But hope also asks you, What’s the alternative? Give up? Live in despair? Do nothing? Hope takes time. A lot of waiting. But waiting offers space and room. Despair sits in cracks. You can hardly breathe. Hope is a room where others can join you.
image courtesy of pixaby
Perhaps it’s splitting hairs but… my one little word is hopeful.
Hopeful is a way of being. An outlook. Optimism. Seeing the good. A quality that inspires hope.
I may not have the power to make change, but I can envision a better future, personally and collectively. I may not immediately see the change, but I can move toward that future. Hopeful charts a path from where we are to where we want to be.
Hopeful is a voice… an invitation, a plea for help, words to celebrate, words to comfort.
Let me be hopeful.
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Great insight. I feel you’ve hit on something very important to consider in these fraught political times.
Always hopeful – especially when it is packed in despair, difficulty and chaos.
Patricia, hopeful is a great word because it isn’t a once and done thing. It is the belief that there is something better out there waiting for us and we need to strive to get there. It is a word that can lead us from dark days to brighter ones. It means that we are not giving up. Bob
Thank you for sharing your most vulnerable self. That is how we connect with others in empathy and compassion. Hopeful is a wonderful word for this year. I like how you dug into each word, hope and hopeful (Word people, we poets). My word simplicity is Not simple. Different meanings altogether. Happy Hopeful New Year!
uu put a whole new perspective on how to hope with hopeful as your OLW. Your story was real and touching. It is difficult to have the crude realities of life spilling oput in your home. You opened your heart to vulnerabilities with grace. With this statement, “Belief in someone or something is about faith in potential, I understand why you are asking hopeful to join you on the spiritual journey. I look forward to hear how hopeful guides your journey.
Patricia, I love all the words in your post. We went to dinner with new friends last night and as the conversation turned to our current political climate, I longed for a way to be hopeful. All I could say was that I would be at our precinct meeting today. You have a way with words and we are blessed by it. Here’s to envisioning a better future and moving toward it this year.
A slight difference between the noun, verb, and adjective, yes. Hopeful sounds to me like a suit of armor, made of light, shining ahead and behind, to the left and right. Not unlike the Breastplate of St Patrick, when I think of it. I think this word will serve you well in the coming year.
A powerful and deeply moving post, Patricia – it invites others to be hopeful, too. Hopeful is not merely wishing but choosing to hang onto belief that change is possible. To dare to envision the possiblity. Your story proves the value of “hopeful” – as does your son’s. And you’re right, hope really is a story of blood, sweat, tears – a story of action vs. waiting or enduring, and oh how I love the observation that “despair lives in the cracks.”