Danyelle Leafty

Welcome, Wednesday!

Just popping in on Tuesday night, because tomorrow’s going to be hectic crazy. >.<

First off, don’t forget to stop by Laura’s place for the new blog chain topic.

Second off, don’t forget to pick up this lovely little number hot off the presses. (And sadly, mind won’t be delivered for about a week longer. *mopes*) Your book is awesome, Kiersten. Congrats!

Third off, I’m guest posting over at the QueryTracker blog today (if today is Wednesday, 9am EST) So stop by, say hello, and pick you your complimentary cookie. (And yes, I mean complimentary. They all have something nice written on them with frosting. And, because I’m curious, what did yours say?) (And yes, these are imaginary, virtual cookies. But I’d still like to know. O:))

Fourth off, how’s your Wednesday going?

Hope is a small creature with fragile wings that beat within every human heart.

But what is this creature that blinks blindly in the sunlight, newly born, and hungry?

It is a box wrapped in colorful paper and tied with a bow. It is the sunrise clearing the horizon and staining the sky rose and gold. It is the sunset that sets the sky on fire before all fades into the night. It is the sweet swelling of a mother’s womb. It is a smile in a sea of strangers. It is a tiny seed that holds a promise tucked safely within its shell. It is a whispered prayer. A forgotten song. A wisp of memory that unfurls into a dream.

Hope is a drop of water when the sun sears the eyes and sand cuts against the skin.

Hope is why stories exist.

They remind us that the now is as fragile as glass spun into slippers. And shows us that those delicate shoes not only last through a ball and hard marble steps, but they surpass bitterness, envy, and deception until the heart can find the love it fought for every second that it beat.

It reminds us that we were meant to fly, to soar high above, to glory in the beauty that is life. But every sky must at some time find itself smothered beneath a thick blanket of clouds that roars and hisses until the sky weeps hard, heavy tears. Hope reminds us that the sun shines still, even though its face is hidden. And sometimes the wind blows, batting us back and forth like dandelion fluff, not to destroy us, but to clear the sky.

Hope is what makes it possible to face a barren landscape where nothing stirs but soft waves of sand. It’s what gives us courage when we face the unknown ocean and can’t see through to the other side or to the bottom. It helps us grasp a stranger’s hand and pull them to safety. It holds us safe and secure when Death comes looking for us as he always does.

Because Hope gives us a voice when all else is silent. It gives us the strength to walk one more mile. It gives us the patience to build one more time. And it helps us to see the person in the sea of humanity, because it recognizes itself and the seed every person carries within themselves.

Hope carries the belief that we can sing with the sun, dance with the moon, laugh with the stars, and hold eternity in the cup of our hands–if only we allow it to grow.