Building Hope

I’m a “fan” of the Leadership Freak, Dan Rockwell.  His posts often jar my mindset enough to get me really thinking.  His blog is business focused, but I find I can often translate to marriage…

Today’s post at Leadership Freak is called “Fixing the Reason Vision Casting Flops”.  Those of you involved in “church world” may be familiar with the term vision casting – for others who don’t know the term, it means declaring an idea of  “what-can-be”.

Dan Rockwell’s point is:

Casting vision to hopeless people is like feeding cake to the dead. The greatest vision in the world is meaningless in the absence of hope.

How full is your “hope tank”?

In a marriage, a husband and wife believe they have a future together.  That’s why they married.  Sometimes it’s easy to believe the future will be good.  Sometimes the future looks bleak and a sense of hope is needed.

There are times when husbands and wives loose sight of hope.

Their “hope tank” is running on empty…

Dan Rockwell has a list of 10 ways to renew hope in his blog post.

Here are my favorites that can be translated into our marriages:

• consistency – builds hope
• feeling understood – enriches hope
• feeling like we fit in – protects hope
• celebrating small wins – affirms hope
• expressing passion – brings vitality to hope

In which areas have you lacked consistency?

Where could you begin taking action on a consistent basis that could build hope?   Perhaps praying together on a consistent basis might build a sense of hope into your marriage…

How can you better understand your spouse?

If feeling understood enriches hope, then perhaps eating meals together (without television – or outside distraction) might allow you to reconnect with your Love and build hope into your marriage …  Are you spending enough time together – quality time?

Does your spouse feel like she/he “fits in”?

Have you taken deliberate steps to make sure your spouse feels like they “belong”  – in the home you share – in your life – in future plans?  (or are you just making decisions for yourself… )  I’ll be blunt:  Does your spouse have “a place” in your life – or are they there just for your convenience?

Do you notice the small wins?

And do you celebrate?  Celebration is a highly underrated tool.

Are you ever excited about being together?

When was the last time you were over-the-top excited to be together?  When last did you talk to friends about your plans to spend time with your spouse exhibiting a passionate exuberance?  Hum-drum does not build hope …

Dan Rockwell concludes:

Fear rules where hope sleeps.

Giving hope is the greatest gift leaders give.

May I paraphrase?

Nurturing hope is a great gift to give your spouse.