Mike McClenahan

Abraham caressing Isaac (Rembrandt) There is so much about the Abraham-through-Jacob-story of Genesis that is so unlikely: old bodies giving birth, lying, wrestling with brother, wrestling with God, refugees becoming great, stealing birthrights, to name a few. And on the back end of unlikeliness we have hope because we know how the story goes. But on the front end of unlikeliness, while we are still in the unlikely, there is often no hope.  Hope is not always immediately or obviously found. There are more reasons not to hope than to hope. Sometimes hopelessness comes in the waiting, sometimes in the barrenness, sometimes in the long journey to a new place.  I visited a friend last week who has declined over the last three months because something is attacking his brain. Tests are still inconclusive. The doctors are still scratching their heads. They think they know what it is not, but they don't know what it is. Without a diagnosis, there is no prognosis.  There is fear and