How do I sustain hope?

 We can all agree the year 2020 was rough. And also, 2021 can be returned because it hasn't been to promising either. We are shut indoors with our people. And if I have to watch one more cartoon or show I can predict the plot of I am going to scream. It's now necessary to stay in not just because I might spread or catch the latest strain of Covid, but because it's the middle of February and the weather is dreadful. I live in an area completely unprepared for a polar vortex. Everything is shut down. Kids are e-learning, husband is remote working, and I keep my noise cancelling headphones all the way up for maximum quiet. If I continue down my litany of woes, I may end up back in bed under the covers. Except even that respite is unavailable. Because it's laundry day. So there's that also. 

Where is hope in all of this? What about the glass half-full? Or the sunny side? It seems to be permanently overcast and the glass has been knocked over. If hope springs eternal as Alexander Pope says in his An Essay on Man, it must be eternally lost. Can it be found? Is it worth looking for? Holding on to? 

Yes, yes it is. Hope can be found in a variety of ways and places. 

When I look around the world and try to draw inspiration, I usually can come up with something to complain about. But when I look forward and up I can see something to be excited about. That gives me hope. However, if that something up ahead doesn't work out, or goes unexpectedly than my outward focus doesn't leave much to hope in. What about my family? Friends? I can hope in those, right? Well.... kind of. Everyone has their own agenda. Even the most dutiful communicators and committed partners. Hope in a person leaves you vulnerable to their emotions and desires. Their objective might not be yours. That can leave you feeling hopeless or disappointed. Which leads to bitterness. Even hoping in myself and my own abilities can lead to feeling betrayed. Eventually I will come up to situation I can't get through or over on my own. Then I'm left to simmer in my own failures and inadequacies that quickly leads to despair. So where CAN I find hope? 

Above. I find it above and upward. Not in myself or humans. I depend fully on the Lord for my hope and joy and perspective. When I am not looking inward to my own abilities, or sideways at those I love I can find hope for all things. It is through reading the Word of God and focusing on His immense capabilities that I am able to hope in even the darkest of places. Because I know that I will fail. That my spouse, kids and family will fail me. But my God has not failed me yet. He is not failing me now in the midst of my struggles. He will not fail me in what comes. My perspective remains hopeful as I remain fully focused on Him.