The world's economy continues in a downward spiral. Military wars continue to be waged on land and sea. Bombs explode, and tensions rise. Crime and joblessness are on the increase. Retail chains and small businesses struggle while they face the possibilities of layoffs, bankruptcy or closing up shop. Standards of ethics and morals, across the board, plummet in the "do what is right in my own eyes" mentality that characterizes our culture. The perpetual pettiness in politics prevents states and the nation from grasping the destructive nature of national and world events and providing workable solutions; " … of the people, by the people and for the people" seems a long-forgotten foundation.

The certainties of this New Year are daunting. Dwelling on them benefits no one, yet they greet us every morning as we awake, drink our morning coffee, catch up on the news, go to work and face the day - days that are more likely to bring further news of difficulty for people we know and love and for strangers we will never meet. As the Kingston Trio once sang, "These are the times that try men's souls."

Try souls as they might, these are also the kind of days that force us to confront the ills of society, to consider any role we might play in them, to act upon any decisions we make and to move forward. While it's difficult to move forward when you cannot see where you are going, moving forward in a world wrapped in demise is exactly what we must do.

Maps provide us with a picture of any journey we take, showing how the roads connect to take us from a starting point to a destination. Today, global positioning systems (GPS) go a step farther, providing us with oral directions, correcting us when we make a wrong turn and cluing us in to restaurants, gas stations and rest areas.

The Internet provides vibrant images of our destinations, removing part of the thrill of discovery. More than any previous generation, we can see where we are going long before we pack the bags, load the car, gas up and hit the road.

Alas, there are no maps, no GPS and no Internet images that will tell us where we are heading as we face an unprecedented "perfect storm" of trying times. We are traveling an open highway populated with millions of people who believe the world, including our own nation, has lost its sense of direction. In uncertain and even desperate times, we need something to hold onto that will help us weather the storms and move forward into a future that is vague and riddled with anxieties.

When I was much younger, my hopes centered on what I wanted. Hope was a way of dreaming that my every wish would be fulfilled. I hoped that I would get the bicycle I asked for on my birthday. I hoped that a certain boy would ask me out. I hoped I would get into the college of my choice. I hoped that I would marry and have children. Hope was all about what I wanted.

As an adult, hope now centers more on what I can give. I hope I can serve my students well, teaching them, as we work together, to locate and use the information they find. I hope I can be a faithful steward of all that God has given me, using it to bring glory not to myself but to him. I hope that I can be a good wife and a good mother, a good friend and a good confidante. I hope that I can live up to all that I have been taught about self-sacrifice, giving when I see a need, offering encouragement and support when others are suffering, giving my time when it just isn't convenient.

Hope is one of the great spiritual truths of Christian belief. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, hope in God is what sustains us through the most difficult times of our lives. From the Psalms, David writes, "Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: he bustles about but only in vain; he heaps up wealth not knowing who will get it; but now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you" (Psalm 39:6-7). In Romans, the apostle Paul reminds us that God is a God of hope, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

This kind of hope, in something and someone greater than we can ever imagine, is nothing short of a spiritual blessing. It is a blessing that can carry us through the darkest of days and the most desperate of times. In 2009, may you know, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual blessing of hope.

Harris Murray, a free-lance writer, may be reached at writeharris55@yahoo.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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