REVIEW: Abiding Hope & Love (Connie Arnold)

[Apex Reviews]

Abiding Hope & Love
Connie Arnold
ISBN: 9781604742329
PublishAmerica
Reviewed By Wendy Paulson

Official Apex Reviews Rating:


The times in which we live present us with daunting challenges at every turn: increased crime, a souring economy, the looming specters of job loss, foreclosure, and repossession - no matter which form they take, the difficulties that surround us only seem to get worse every day. In light of such adversity, finding the silver linings to the omnipresent clouds of despair can be quite an arduous task.

So, when a poetic collection such as Abiding Hope & Love comes along - whether you’re a poetry lover or not - you will serve yourself well to embrace the jewels of light and wisdom contained therein. Skillfully penned by Connie Arnold, Abiding Hope & Love presents the reader with a host of different of topics, ranging from nature to children to music to the Bible, but all centered on the healing, inspiring effects that hope lends to any difficult circumstance. In so doing, Arnold provides the reader with a spiritual blueprint for introducing healing into his/her own life through the simple act of shifting focus from the negative to the positive.

Consider, for example, this passage from "Signs of Hope":

"If life seems to overwhelm you
Till you feel you cannot cope,
Just stop and look around you,
Discover the signs of hope.
No matter what circumstances
May occur in your life's course,
Your heart will be filled with peace
When God is your hope's source."

and this passage from "Stars":

"God exists or else he doesn't,
There is no in between,
And with faith we can accept
Even what cannot be seen.
God's love beams much brighter
Than the strongest star we see,
To give hope and safe guidance
To lost souls like you and me."

In both pieces, Arnold presents the reader with compelling reasons for acknowledging the various sources of hope available to them, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

Arnold also effectively displays the benefits of selfless giving, the very practice of which contributes greatly to elevating one’s personal mood and state of mind. For example, this passage from "When You Give Love":

"When you give love, you give peace of mind
And comfort another to whom you are kind.
When love is what you freely are giving,
What you receive makes life more worth living."

and this passage from "The Gift of Love":

"Love is more a matter
Of the heart than of the mind,
It's giving of yourself,
Being thoughtful and also kind.
It brings a special lightness
And brightens up each day,
And makes life more worth living
When you give love away."

perfectly highlight all the advantages of selfless giving that await us all - if we only have the courage required to make the sacrifice.

Abiding Hope & Love is a well-crafted, thoroughly insightful volume sure to inspire even the gloomiest of souls. Uplifting and encouraging, the various pieces that compose the collection are consummately comforting and reassuring, displayed most saliently in the eponymous title poem that leads off the book:

"When the winds of fear and hatred
Rage and roar along their course,
Through prayer their strength is weakened,
As faith subdues their force.

There's a safe, secure retreat,
A place down deep inside,
The center of life's storms,
Where hope and love abide."