A New Year Filled with Hope and Growth
Laurie Taylor

The past two years have been especially hard. I feel as if I lost two years of my life and I don’t know where they went. It’s all a blur and it’s all surreal. My life is beginning to return to some semblance of “normal” and I’m stunned to discover that it’s now 2022. I’m still reeling from all the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic, but I’m also slowly realizing that I’ve grown in ways I never would have imagined. I also understand now more than ever before the value of hope.

I’ve learned that even in the hard times it’s not just possible, but probable that we will grow. It’s through our difficult experiences that we learn that we are really not in control of very much in our lives. It’s when we exhaust our all of our own resources that we come to understand that sometimes we have to step out in blind faith. This is when we reach for hope. And hope never fails us. 

I used to think of hope as a giant, old fashioned gumball machine. As a child I would put a penny in the slot, turn the handle and a brightly colored gumball would fall into my cupped hand. I put my penny in and I got exactly what I expected. It was quite a bitter dose of reality when I became an adult and learned that life just doesn’t work this way. We can hope with all our hearts, but we still may not get what we hope for. 

One of the hardest aspects of my work is that I can’t take away pain and sadness. I can’t bring back loved ones. All I can do is walk beside you and plant the seed of hope that will someday break through the ground of grief and grow into a beautiful new life filled with meaning and purpose.

Let’s proclaim 2022 as the year of hope and growth. We are here for you as you continue to rebuild your life and look forward to working with you on the journey.