What Are You Hoping For?

It's common to wish things 'were true' or 'weren't' true. To wish things 'would happen' or 'wouldn't happen.' I recently was in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with my husband and saw this fountain filled with coins. Clearly people had tossed these coins upon passing the fountain. But why?

Harold Holzer, a spokesman for The Met, says “The fountain was designed to recreate the ambience of a Roman court, but you know, it’s inevitable. From Trevi to Dendur, water attracts coins” (Barron 2007).

Many of us are familiar with this aged idea of tossing coins into water. Joan Mertens, "The Met’s curator of Greek and Roman art says, 'The idea is that if you cast something away that is meaningful and significant to you, then you will be reunited with it" (Barron 2007).

After reading all of this, the truth is emphasized that people wish and hope for things to change or stay the same throughout life. To cast coins is a slight plea that 'maybe, just maybe...'

Hear me right, there is no condemnation in casting a coin in water! I'm pretty sure I've thrown a coin or two in my younger years and the Trevi Fountain is definitely on my bucket list to see. However, I'm simply making the point that 'coin tossing', I believe, represents the fact that people actually are designed to "hope." Time says "research shows that most of us spend less time mulling over negative outcomes than we do over positive ones. When we do contemplate defeat and heartache, we tend to focus on how these can be avoided" (Sharon 2011).

Although there is credible science research done out there on the brain...my focus on this topic leans on scripture.

Romans 15:13 (ESV Version) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

God is hope. When we abound in hope through the Holy Spirit, we literally gain access to being filled with joy and peace.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV Version) "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Faith IS the certainty of what we hope for. We can take comfort even in the things we don't see as our reality when we have faith in Jesus. He is our certainty in the uncertainty. Jesus is the hope of the world. Through His grace, we can rest on him in our every cry and praise.

1 Peter 5:7 New King James Version (NKJV) "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

So...what are you hoping for? If you receive anything from this post, know that our Father in Heaven loves you, cares for you, and is with you. You can put your trust and hope in Him because He is the hope of the world.

- Catherine xoxo

Works Cited

Barron, James. “Many Wishes, Many Splashes, and the Fountains at the Met Fill Up.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 June 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/06/30/nyregion/30coins.html.

“BibleGateway.” Romans 5:13 Hebrews 11:1 1 Peter 5:7 ESV NKJV- - Bible Gateway, Bible Gateway Blog, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2B5%3A13.

Sharot, Tali. “The Optimism Bias.” Time, Time Inc., 28 May 2011, content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2074067-5,00.html.