When Hope Isn’t Shiny (And Why I’m Finally Writing Again)
An honest reflection from the messy middle of faith & life.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog post. 📝
When I first launched HopeSpun Creations, I wrote one fun introduction — a lighthearted “here we go!” post about building this wild adventure of faith, creativity, and messy joy. 🌱💛 I promised stories. I promised honesty. I promised a peek behind the curtain.
And then life swept me up, moved me from South Carolina to Ohio 📦➡️🏡, and handed me a whole lot more than I felt ready for.
In the middle of unpacking, adjusting to a new state, and trying to catch my breath 😮💨, my creative brain kicked in. I threw myself into building my product lines — Still Loved, Unashamed, Rooted.Grounded.Loved, and This Mess — each one an expression of the faith and honesty I wanted this brand to represent. 🎨✨
But the blog?
It went quiet. 🕊️
Not intentionally.
Just… life.
And then this Thanksgiving season happened, and with everything unfolding, I felt something tug at me:
✨ Practice what HopeSpun stands for.
✨ Practice authentic faith.
✨ Write from the middle of the mess — not after the storm has passed.
So here I am. 🤍
🙏 Thanksgiving Was a Mixed Bag
Thanksgiving Day itself was wonderful — after I almost threatened to drag my parents out of their house and make them come over. 😅 We laughed, ate way too much, and had a truly sweet day.
But the very next morning, while everyone else was out chasing Black Friday sales 🛍️, I was at my laptop filing Emergency Guardianship paperwork for my baby sister.
Most people following HopeSpun don’t know anything about this. Even many of my friends don’t know the full story. Life has been heavy, and quiet, and complicated. 💔
She has been in the hospital for about a month due to severe malnutrition connected to years of addiction. She can’t feed herself. She struggles to hold objects. Some days her mind mixes the present with memories from years ago. Some days she talks to people only she can see.
It breaks my heart in ways I can’t fully describe. 💧
And standing on the edge of such a painful reality, I found myself needing to ask a question I didn’t expect:
“What exactly am I hoping for?”
🌿 The Slow, Honest Work of Hope
I was on a long drive recently — the kind of drive where your thoughts finally catch up with you — and tears just started coming. Not dramatic tears, just quiet ones. The kind that slip down your face without permission. 🚗💧
I thought about my baby sister.
I thought about her teenage girls that have spent their teens years away from their mother.
I thought about all the responsibilities I’m juggling.
I thought about the plans I had for HopeSpun, the dreams I was building toward, the community I hoped to grow. ✨
And I asked myself:
· Am I hoping she’ll fully recover?
· Am I hoping her children will reconcile with her?
· Am I hoping my business will finally take off so I can breathe financially?
· Am I hoping this brand will become a place where people feel less alone and more loved?
Those are prayers — real, raw, tear-stained prayers. 🙏💔
But they aren’t my hope.
Hope isn’t a wishlist.
Hope isn’t “I want God to do ___ for me.”
Hope is an anchor. ⚓
And it’s only secure if it’s tied to something unshakeable.
My hope isn’t in the outcomes.
My hope isn’t in my own ability to handle everything perfectly.
My hope is in Him. ✝️
· My hope is that Jesus won’t leave me — even when I can’t feel Him.
· My hope is that He accepts me when I fail or fall short.
· My hope is that He will guide us through this impossible season.
· My hope is that He will whisper love to my nieces’ hearts in ways I can’t. 💖
That’s the kind of hope that meets you when your strength runs out.
The kind that sits on the bathroom floor with you.
The kind that doesn’t shame your tears — it holds you through them. 🤍
Isaiah 40:31.
Jeremiah 29:11.
1 Corinthians 13:13.
And then I came across this verse that felt like God gently placing a hand on my shoulder:
1 Thessalonians 1:3
“Your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And suddenly, everything in my life made sense through that lens:
· My business? Work produced by faith. 🌱 (Every product line, every design, every dream in HopeSpun.)
· The caregiving I’m doing for my family? Labor prompted by love. ❤️
· The strength I’m drawing from when I feel like I have none left? Endurance inspired by hope in Jesus. ✝️✨
Not shiny hope.
Not Instagram-perfect hope.
Not “everything is fine” hope.
Real hope.
Messy hope.
Honest hope.
Hope that keeps you standing even when your knees shake. 🌧️➡️🌤️
💛 This Is Why I’m Sharing This
Because I don’t want HopeSpun to be just a store.
I want it to be a space — a platform where real faith can breathe. Where we don’t pretend life is perfect. Where the messy parts aren’t hidden. Where God meets us exactly where we are. 🤲✨
And that means I have to be real, too.
So here I am:
Trying.
Hoping.
Crying some days. 😢
Laughing on others. 😄
Creating.
Caring.
Believing.
Enduring.
Trusting that Jesus will hold the parts of my life I can’t. 🤍
If you’re in a messy middle too, just know:
· You are not hopeless. 💛
· You are not alone.
· Your hope doesn’t have to shine — it just has to be rooted in Him. ✝️⚓
Thank you for being here. I’m grateful you’re part of this journey. 🤍🙏
