Hope, Dreams, and Ambitions
Some time ago, I came across a story titled What Kept Me Going, about a young man named Adrian Lucas who survived being trapped under rubble for 32 hours. Adrian and three of his close friends had decided to spend Thanksgiving hiking and catching up—it had been a while since they’d all been together. The hike started off well, but around noon, they reached a fork in the trail and decided to split up in pairs, planning to meet again further ahead. Luke and Chris took the left path, while Adrian and Chuck took the right.
As Adrian and Chuck climbed higher, a sudden tremor caused a portion of the mountain to collapse. Rocks gave way and the two were thrown apart. Chuck was fortunate—he escaped with just a twisted ankle and some bruises. Though in pain, he was still able to limp back toward the path, yelling Adrian’s name in panic.
Adrian, however, wasn’t so lucky. He had been buried under the fallen debris and lost consciousness. When he finally came to, he found himself trapped in complete darkness, unable to move, unable to speak. But then, something remarkable happened—he noticed a tiny hole, no bigger than a finger, through which he could see a sliver of the sky. A literal ray of hope.
Adrian kept his eyes fixed on that pinhole of light. In his mind, he imagined himself laughing about the incident later with his friends, especially Luke, who would never let him live it down. That sliver of sky gave him something to hold on to. Rescue teams eventually reached him 32 hours later—delayed by the difficulty of moving heavy equipment into the area. But he made it. He survived because he never looked away from that tiny ray of hope. He chose to believe that help was on the way.
“Hope is being able to see that there’s light despite all of the darkness.” — Archbishop Desmond Tutu
As humans, we’re bound to face moments of deep darkness—times when everything feels overwhelming, hopeless, and bleak. I remember a point in my own life in 2019 when I hit rock bottom. I was so consumed by my worries that I couldn’t see a way forward. It felt like the end. But in moments like that, hope becomes our greatest weapon. Hope is the ability to see through your pain and know that what you’re going through is temporary—that it will eventually pass.
Even Jesus faced moments of darkness. Yet, He endured because His eyes were fixed on something greater—the joy set before Him.
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” — Hebrews 12:2
Even if the world takes everything from you, don’t let it rob you of your hope or your ability to dream. That’s the one thing that will carry you when everything else is falling apart. Take a look at most success stories, and you’ll find the common thread isn’t luck—it’s resilience. A refusal to give up. That’s what kept Thomas Edison going despite reportedly failing thousands of times before finally inventing the light bulb.
So I encourage you—let your dreams drive you. Hold on to hope. Let it anchor you in the storms. Yes, life will throw challenges your way. Yes, things won’t always go according to plan. But hope keeps you steady. And while staying hopeful doesn’t mean ignoring reality, it does mean refusing to be defeated by it.
Keep dreaming. Keep believing. Keep your eyes on the light.
That’s what will keep you going.