Email: Jessie Jennette

Happy New Year!

What is it about this particular midnight that is so inspiring it makes people want to change the pieces of their lives that they don’t like? It’s one day out of 365 others that are identical. Mankind passes countless other midnights identical to this one—the hour, minute, and second hands all point straight up twice a day, even the ones that run too fast or too slow. But suddenly December 31st rolls around and all my friends start talking about taking that vacation this year, or finally losing that 20 pounds, or this year we’ll finally decide to tie the knot, or—I don’t know—die your hair, change your wardrobe, and start calling yourself “the Monarch,”  or “Supreme Ruler of the Universe,” thank you very much for noticing my true identity.

Twenty-four New Years Eves I’ve seen now and ultimately nothing in the world changes with the stroke of midnight. The stresses of the job are still there the next day, as are the wounds from that bad relationship, the messy state of the house (trailer, in my case), that person you just don’t get along with from the work organization that you try to avoid, but when forced to interact with are overly enthusiastic to try to disguise the fact that you don’t want to talk to them…. Problems don’t disappear and get replaced when you close your eyes at midnight and make a wish to a nostalgic chorus of “Auld Lang Syne.”  “Please God, let this year be better than last year.” The last time I experienced that let-down after my wish seemed to be ignored, there came a thought: isn’t it silly that people believe in the power of a new start? It seems hopeless. Hopeless became a theme of that year. I don’t know if you believe in the saying that whatever you do that first 24 hours of the New Year sets the standard for the 364 days to follow, but it was certainly true of my 2007. I’m not a superstitious person, but the undermining hopelessness, pity-me feeling plagued my thoughts for the majority of this past 12 months. What can I do about this mess I made at work…. Well, there’s probably nothing I can do to win my co-workers over, it’s hopeless, I might as well not worry about it.  I failed at something that was really important to me, it’s obviously not meant to be, I’d be hopeless at it anyway. Ew! Let’s take a moment to shake off all that depressing material. Interspersed with all the good that happened in my life last year, there were those nasty, hope-draining, black nuggets that would jump in and spoil the joy that would have been.

This is the source of the lesson God’s been teaching me this Advent season. Hope is also scarce down here. Two years out of the storm and you’re home is still unlivable. Now that’s a black nugget if I’ve ever seen one. Hopeless. But there are many here that oppose such forces. RHINO (Restoring Hope in New Orleans) is a group working out of a Presbyterian church on local homes throughout New Orleans. Signs planted around the city and surrounding areas proclaim the strength and will of a New Orleans that refuses to roll over and give in. Last week I saw a “tricked-out” truck with all the fancy hubcaps and chrome upgrades that had “Hope Floats in New Orleans” painted across the back window. Hope is arguably the most important issue to address in every crisis. “Morale,” the local governments call it. Hope is a fragile thing to some, myself included. For those who have their roots firmly planted, it’s sufficient to say hope is always there. Hope never dies. And they know it to be true.

For others, the source of hope can be difficult, impossible sometimes to find, particularly when those distracting black “hope-drainers” are circulating in your thoughts. Last week, I learned something about silencing set distractions. In a sermon from a church in Orange Grove, Mississippi, the pastor read Ephesians 1:13: “… In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope.” Often, I need to read into Scripture before it will transform my beliefs. So, the faith I put in God gives me peace about myself and brings me hope. That hope may be for my soul rather than for concerns I have in the world, but hope has a way of spreading to other areas I’m worried about. Therefore, the hope I have from God is hope in general. That hope comes through God. So if God is the source of hope, then hope can never perish. In short, our hope is in God, the Holy Spirit, God is eternal, so hope is as eternal. What a comforting thought to bring in the New Year. Hopefully that one will set the standard for the next 364 days.

Your hopeful servant,

Jessie AKA Supreme ruler of the Universe, thank you very much…

P.S. I’m being transferred to Olive Tree Volunteer Village in New Orleans as of the January 6. You’ll be getting the new contact info soon!