The Chevrolet division of General Motors has been using the tag line, "Find New Roads" for a while now and in life it is always exciting to have new experiences – to find new roads. Even more exciting I think is to make new roads. This quote that I've had in my "use in the future" file defines one way to make new roads. "Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence." (Lin Yutang)
Hope also creates the paths in our lives that lead to our future. Sometimes it looks, or at least feels, like there is not a path to the future, but hope continues to drive us to forge that path if none existed before. Hope leads us to the thought that Hannibal expressed centuries ago – "I will either find a way or make a way."
Making new roads is never easy and sometimes one pursues a path for quite some time before discovering or realizing that it is a path up a blind alley leading nowhere. In those cases, it is necessary to backtrack and start again on a different path. It is not necessary to give up the hope that is driving you, but it is necessary to recognize and admit that the path you were on isn't going to allow you to realize your hope. In that case, a modification of the Chevrolet slogan makes sense – Make new roads.
There are many collective experiences of hope that involve many people walking on what are new roads. The last two years have found many people walking on the newly created road of hope for a cure or an answer to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are hopes for peace in the world, especially now with the war in the Ukraine. Make new roads.
You might think that hope based upon faith would be a wide and well-traveled road that is clearly marked by signs erected by the various religions of the world. For many, however, their personal faith is a new path that is not always clear or easy to walk. They may join others once a week on the highways of religious beliefs; but, on Monday the road may seem to narrow to a path or sometimes less. Sometimes hope points to a path never traveled before and that is when you must commit to your faith more than ever. Make new roads.
So, if your hopes are taking you down paths you've never traveled before, take a moment to get your faith bearings and put your trust in God's will for you. Hope gets you started, but faith clears the way. You may soon notice that others of faith are walking along similar paths. Together, you are Making new roads.
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