The best is yet to come
Our Principal Jonathan Walter recently stated that the overall focus at Carey could best be summarised as ‘creating great humans’. This is a fabulous aim – and it is knowingly issued with an inherent challenge. If we are honest enough to acknowledge that we live in an increasingly challenging global situation, then the question must be asked, ‘How are we going to assume the responsibility for creating great humans?’ There is so much war, division, uncertainty, terror and fear around us – what can we possibly do?
Become Beacons of Hope. Can we model and example hope to the young people we teach and lead and look after? Can we be people who sincerely live hope-filled lives in a way which encourages others to consider a similar pathway? And what is hope anyway?
The Biblical understanding of hope can be seen in Hebrews 6:19, where hope is described as ‘the anchor for the soul, firm and secure’, and again in Romans 5:3–5, which encourages us to hold our heads up during the difficulties of life ‘because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope never puts us to shame, because hope is filled with God’s love.’
On his website, The Red Hand Files, Australian musician Nick Cave recently offered this reflection on hope:
‘It is understandable to feel alarmed by the current state of things, to feel fearful and depressed. We are presented with a constant communiqué of despair, that we exist in the worst of times, indeed, the end of times. Many feel impotent in this dreadful imminence – words like “Happy New Year” ring hollow, like a hangover from a bygone better time. We become what we consume, living embodiments of a catastrophe foretold. We turn in on ourselves, trapped within the dark pathology of our time. Now, here we are at the beginning of a new year, and like many I feel apprehensive … So, what is hope, and what is hope for? Hope is an emotional temper that emboldens the heart to be active, it is a condition, a mood, an aura of being. It is a feat of the imagination, both courageous and ingenious, a vitality that inspires us to take innovative action to defend the world. Hope is essential to our survival and our flourishing. We achieve this vitality of spirit by rejecting the relentless promotion of despair and opening our eyes to the beauty of things, however imperilled, degraded, or difficult to love, the world may appear to be. We try to view the world not as it is packaged, presented and sold to us, but as we imagine it could be. We do not look away from the world, we look directly at it and allow the spirit of hope – the necessary driver of change – to inspire us to action … Hope is optimism with a broken heart. This means that hope has an earned understanding of the sorrowful or corrupted nature of things, yet it rises to attend to the world even still … In its active form, hope is a supreme gesture of love, a radical and audacious duty, whereas despair is the stagnant rejection of life itself. Hope becomes the energy of change.’
Whether we are buoyed by the words of Scripture or Nick Cave, the question remains. Practically speaking, how can we be people who embrace hope and live as Beacons of Hope? How can we model and encourage a hope-filled existence?
In 2015 an article in The Geelong Advertiser celebrated the addition of Lachie Henderson to the playing list at the Geelong Football Club. In the final paragraph was this simple statement: ‘Henderson believes he has yet to play his best footy.’ A schoolboy champion drafted in the top ten of the AFL who had already experienced challenges and difficulties in form, fitness, emotions and dealing with the opinions of others, was arriving at his third AFL club ready to seize his new opportunity with an attitude of facing forwards and saying ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’!
For those experiencing a difficult season it may help to see this phrase as a Statement of Hope to assist you to take one more step, and for those whose recent life experience is a season of relative calm then the phrase ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’ could potentially be embraced as a Statement of Growth as you recognise the possibility of further learning.
In 1964 Frank Sinatra recorded the song ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’. Originally written for Tony Bennett and recorded many times by a variety of artists, it was Frank Sinatra who made it famous. It was the last song he ever sang in public, and he even choose those six powerful words as the inscription on his tombstone – ‘The Best Is Yet to Come.’
Perhaps these same words could be a key for us at Carey this year as we aim to become Beacons of Hope encouraging young people to aim for a future they can’t quite see yet – fulfilling our purpose of ‘creating great humans’ by offering wide-ranging opportunities to foster learning and growth. The Best is Yet to Come!
Bless you.
Rev. Tim Edwards
Lead Chaplain
