What is Hope?

This thought from my good friend Susan this morning.

Hope is not what you expect; it is what you would never dream. It is a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming ending. Its Abraham adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson, but his son. Its Moses standing in the promised land not with Aaron or Miriam at his side, but with Elijah and the transfigured Christ. Its Zechariah left speechless at the sight of wife Elizabeth, gray-headed and pregnant. And it is the two Emmaus-bound pilgrims reaching out to take a piece of bread only to see the hands from which it is offered are pierced.
Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction.

Max Lucado - God Came Near.