To shut all doors to despair:
the tenth faith characteristic listed in Alton’s letter indicates that
faith and hopelessness are mutually exclusive.
Despair occurs in the desert places of dead-ends. One cannot proceed forward with either emotional
encouragement or spiritual inspiration.
Imagination shuts down and supplies no conjecture of better times. Faith, on the other hand, is a vista upon imminent better days. Sometimes this involves
having one’s happiness depend upon dreams shifted from the impossible to the
possible. For example, while one’s youth
may be gone forever, one’s ability to grow in other ways is not. Success becomes redefined with realistic options. This process depends upon appreciating the
difference between an immature dead-end fanciful wish list upon whose reliance failure
and unhappiness are assured and the alternative growth into fungible long-term spiritual
development in which we are surrounded and supported by the eternal dreams and visions of hopeful humanity for untold generations.
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