Look for Hope & You’ll Find It Everywhere
Day of Hope #128 - Sunday August 13, 2023
Goal: Follow where the day takes me and look for hope along the way
Quote: “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” – Christopher Reeve
Today was an amazing Day of Hope. It was one of those days when everything seemed to line up in such funny and unexpected ways that I couldn't help but think:
Okay, universe. I see you.
My original plan was pretty simple. I needed to drive to Oregon to turn in some lottery tickets we had purchased earlier in the year. But this was my Day of Hope, so naturally I started Googling what else I could do while I was there. Then I had an idea.
Where is Hope, Idaho?
I had heard about the town a few times on the news, and how perfect would it be to visit a place called Hope on my Day of Hope? Unfortunately, Hope, Idaho, was over seven hours away. Definitely not a day trip.
But I found so many fun things connected to Hope that I decided I would plan a trip there for October. And guess what October had coming? Friday the 13th. Of course it did. That adventure would have to wait.
But now I was curious. What kind of “hope” could I find in Oregon? Let's Go Find Hope I started Googling and discovered something called Hope Drain in Oregon, not too far beyond the Idaho-Oregon border. Now that was doable.
I asked my daughter if she'd like to come along for a completely unplanned adventure. We could find Hope Drain, grab some lunch, and see where the day took us. She was in. I slept in and enjoyed a quiet morning, and around 10:30 a.m. we took off in the truck. First stop? Starbucks for tea and egg bites. Naturally.
Then we were off to find Hope. We couldn't get the map to take us directly to Hope Drain, but we could see that it was near Vale, Oregon, so we headed in that direction.
We also needed to cash in our Oregon lottery tickets. In Idaho, it seems like you can buy and redeem lottery tickets everywhere. Oregon was apparently going to make us work for it. And since it was Sunday, several places were closed. Eventually, we found a gas station that could redeem them. We won $40! Hey, that's gas money. Or lunch. Either way, we were already winning.
Hope Meets 13
Then something happened that made the entire trip worth it. While we were looking at the map trying to figure out where to go next, my daughter noticed a street sign. Hope Street.
Well, obviously we needed a picture. But then we looked at the other street sign at the intersection. 13th Street. Wait. What? We had somehow found ourselves standing at the corner of:
Hope Street and 13th Street.
On my Day of Hope. On August 13th. My mind was blown. Seriously, what are the odds? At that point, I didn't even care if we found Hope Drain. The trip was officially a success. We stopped, took pictures with the street signs, laughed about how ridiculous and perfect the whole thing was, and then continued our search.
We Found Hope, And It Was Drained
Eventually, our directions led us out to a remote field. And there it was. Hope Drain. Turns out Hope Drain was exactly what the name suggested, an actual drainage area. And it was dry. So technically... Hope was drained. Ha! I'm not sure that's exactly the message I was looking for on my Day of Hope, but we found it!
After documenting our very exciting drainage discovery, we decided it was time for lunch. We pulled up nearby restaurants and decided we were just going to keep following the theme of the day. One place caught our attention. The Country Café. Why that one? Because according to the map, it was 13 miles away.
Okay, universe. We get it. The Country Café it was.
Did We Get Lost, or Find New Hope?
After lunch, we decided to take some back roads home. Somewhere along the way, we may have gotten a little lost. Or did we? Because while trying to figure out where we were, we ended up on a road called: New Hope Road. You cannot make this stuff up. Hope Drain. Hope Street. 13th Street. A restaurant 13 miles away. And now New Hope Road. All on August 13th. Maybe we weren't lost at all.
Maybe sometimes taking the wrong road is exactly how you find New Hope. Hope Is Everywhere
After our adventure, my daughter headed home and I settled in for a quiet evening. I made some hot-air popcorn and watched Definitely, Maybe and Calendar Girls. I ended the day with some tapping and meditation and thought about everything that had happened.
It had been such a simple adventure. We didn't have a big itinerary. We didn't spend a bunch of money. We didn't even really know where we were going. We just started driving and followed the day wherever it wanted to take us. And everywhere I looked, there seemed to be another reminder of hope, or my favorite number 13.
Could all of it have been coincidence? Of course. But that's not really the point. The point is that I noticed it. When you intentionally start looking for something good, you often begin seeing things you might otherwise drive right past. That day, I was looking for hope. And I found it everywhere. I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be and moving in the right direction.
After everything that had happened over the past several months, building Hopes Highways, launching my website, losing someone I loved, and continuing to figure out what this next chapter of my life was going to look like, I welcomed every little reminder.
Keep going. You're on the right highway. And if you happen to get a little lost along the way? Who knows. You might just end up on a New Hope Road.
My Lesson of Hope: Hope is everywhere when you're willing to look for it. Sometimes it appears in big life-changing moments, and sometimes it's hiding on a street sign, down a backroad, or in a completely unplanned adventure. You don't always need to know exactly where you're going. Stay open, pay attention, and enjoy the journey. Sometimes getting a little lost is exactly how you find new hope.
