Photo was taken at the weir in Ballincollig Regional Park, Co.Cork (Irl)

It’s exactly a year ago since the ‘Great Flood’ hit Cork. This time last year much of the city was under water. The photo I have up today was taken in the height of the flood. The inset photo shows the weir at its normal level and the main photo shows it completely in flood with the weir hardly visible.

Thought on Saturday – November – 20/11/2010

God lit a candle of hope for each of us. It’s not waiting in a window somewhere or around a bend. God lit it right inside us so that we need not ever live one moment without it.’~Vickie Girard

Hope is a word we sometimes throw around a lot. We often say that we live in hope or that we hope for the best. When the word hope is used to mean everything and anything, it can loose some of its impact. It never looses impact when used in a faith context. Hope is the voice that God uses to speak to our hearts. Hope is God’s parachute in life and it is always God’s smile. It is not a product, you can’t buy it and it is always a part of a journey. In many ways hope is prayer. Without it you have nothing and with it you have so many possibilities. During these very difficult economic times we must have hope. The eyes of the world are on Ireland at the moment, wondering how much financial help we will need to keep us afloat. But despite the many difficulties we must have hope. We put our trust and hope in God to guide us through the unknown, to help us learn from mistakes and to use wisely the wisdom of those who have been there before.