I talked about hope on my podcast last week (and tomorrow’s episode will be a bonus episode, also about hope), so I wanted to offer a few other recent podcasts and articles that have been helpful to me as resources for hope—helping me in cultivating hope in a challenging time.
For the Life of the World podcast
One, I’ve enjoyed Miroslav Volf’s thoughts and conversations on the For the Life of the World podcast lately where he has talked about how hope in the God who raises the dead is different from optimism or reasonable expectation. I realized from listening to him how often I want my hope—even my Christian hope—to make sense. He helped me consider what it takes to acknowledges the reality of pain and suffering while also holding out for healing and restoration.
NPR Story
Two, this story on NPR about Palestinian Muslims and Israeli Jews in quarantine together and what happens when it is time to celebrate Passover gave me hope for humanity.
Encountering Silence podcast
Three, it shouldn’t be surprising that the author of books like Dakota, The Cloister Walk, and Acedia and Me would be able to speak about hope in a time of isolation and uncertainty, and Kathleen Norris does not disappoint. In parts one and two of the Encountering Silence podcast, Norris speaks about how silence and stillness and solitude often expose what we are “really suffering from.” She also speaks about the habits she’s formed that help her not to fall into acedia, an ancient word that she has brought back into our language, that is some combination of depression, boredom, and meaninglessness. Norris says, “the opposite of acedia is love,” so in many ways this whole conversation is a call to consider how we can walk the path of love through this pandemic
Owl Moon
And four, Owl Moon, my favorite picture book, which reads to me as a poem about hope.
………
Want to read more? Here are some suggestions:
- AJB Recommends
- How Love Brings Power in the Midst of Powerlessness {Ep 109}
- It Doesn’t Have to Be Groundhog Day
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and you can subscribe to my Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast and my Reading Small Talk podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.
