By Ajung Sojwal

In his letter to the Romans, Paul says, “In hope we were saved.” Because I choose to see myself as a person of faith, optimism for me cannot be understood outside the notion of biblical hope. As such, hope is more than just an optimistic attitude in life. Hope is being able to see life and more importantly, my relationships with friends and loved ones through the lens of God’s goodness and promises. Biblical hope puts me in the center of the community and holds me accountable to hope not just for me and my future, but, also for another who might not be in a place to hope for herself/himself. 

Many years ago, a dear friend of mine was overcome by depression. The darkness that enveloped her was so dense that she couldn’t see any reason for life. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, she didn’t want to meet anyone and she was overcome by a deep sense of shame and worthlessness. From my place of feeling shut out by her and at a loss as to how I might be of help, I remembered the verse in Romans where it says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” I had to learn what it means for me to hold on to hope for her while she clearly had lost hope for herself. It meant being present to her without any expectations from her. I prayed it was enough for her just to see another person without having to engage in anything more than hold hands for a few minutes or be told some mundane stories of the outside world. 

One of my mentors once told me his own story of how he had spiraled into depression and wasn’t able to connect with anyone or anything for almost six months and how one of his friends would come every week just to massage his feet without ever speaking a word. “Those massages on the only part of my body that I could bear for someone to touch me were what slowly allowed for hope to find its way to me,” he said.  Literally from the soles of his feet, hope grew to touch his heart and soul bringing him back to life. 

Christian hope or optimism, if you want to call it that, calls for me to believe that there is a space where the Holy Spirit resides within any relationship and that indeed in hope we are saved. All of which means that the future or the good things I hope for are not within my control; still, hope rests in this, “that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (All Biblical quotes from Romans 8) 

Ajung Sojwal is the Priest-in-Charge of All Saint’s Episcopal Church, Palo Alto, CA. Ajung and her husband moved to the Bay Area after serving for many years in churches in the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey area. Ajung is passionate about conversing and learning to engage in community as the incarnational Body of Christ in a suffering world.