The first order to being human is to get your Who right, someone has said.

The beginning of everything is Who.

Not What.

Not How.

Not When.

Not Where.

Not even Why.

What, how, when, where and why have their place, but the beginning of everything is Who.

The beginning of everyone is Who.

Conception.

Connection.

Even the first question.

Who?

We begin with Who.

We end with Who.

In the journey between each beginning and every ending, endings becoming beginnings, Who.

My conflicts cooked up in Who.

My serenity summons Who.

My forgiving and being forgiven framed by Who.

My fears founded in Who.

My resentments relate to Who.

My reconciliations repair Who.

My amends mending Who.

My shame secrets me from Who.

My loneliness isolates me from Who.

My recovery restores Who.

Hurt by a Who? We need a healing Who.

Traumatized by a Who? We need a tender Who.

Shamed by a Who? We need a safe Who.

Trust broken by a Who? Made whole by a Who.

I guess that’s why the Psalmist cries, “When my heart is faint, I call to you. You are my refuge.”

And why Jesus says things like, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust God. Trust me."

Maybe they know hope is not a What, a How, a When, a Where, or even a Why.

More than a hope deal, we need a Hope Dealer.

Hope is a Who.

Hope is a Who helping you do what you cannot do for you.

Hope is a Who seeing you.

Hope is a Who listening to you.

Hope is a Who understanding you.

Hope is a Who empowering you.

Hope is a Who forgiving you.

Hope is a Who trusting you.

Hope is a Who loving you.

Hope is a Who returning you to the best version of you.

Hope is a Who because hope looks like you.

---

This article originally appeared on the author's blog. Reprinted with permission.