Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. -James 1
There are some things in this life that give us happiness for a moment, and after which, they leave us with a far greater pain and emptiness than we had before. There are some things that seem good at the start yet little by little we discover the darkness that they hide underneath.
Let us not fall into the illusion of such things. They only appear good for a while, but beneath them all is something that will keep us away from true happiness and peace.
Let us consider God’s gifts instead. God’s gifts are the ones that give true joy and lasting peace. The good that they contain is pure. There is no shadow of illusion in them, and the light that they bring us is not tainted by any kind of evil.
We were not made for things of fading beauty or diminishing good. We were made for eternal wholeness and perfect joy. Expect and receive nothing of lesser worth.
Unhappy is the soul enslaved by the love of anything that is mortal. – Saint Augustine
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"