"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." -Prov. 13:12

I have lots of little hopes. I d0- I hope that my marriage stays as love-driven as it is right now, I hope that the Lord blesses us with healthy children, I hope that doesn't happen too soon, I hope that I get a job next year, and I hope I get to go on the motorcycle trip with Dad this summer.
If these are deferred, my heart may be sick. If my longing remains for the Lord, He has promised to fulfill it and despite any deferred hopes, I will be a tree of life. (Hopes are not bad. It is possible to be heartsick and a tree of life at the same time.) God is the longing of every human heart; some people just don't know that He is, so they rely on their hopes for their happiness. Our longing is not fulfilled by health or a man or by good circumstance. God is bigger than those.

Lord, a longing fulfilled is a tree of life! Trees of life bear much fruit! Fruitful trees are rooted in you (John 15:5). If I am rooted in ridiculous worldly things, I will bear no fruit. The fruit that I have left will rot- Rotten fruit on a withering tree with brittle branches on dry soil. John 15:6, Psalm 1:3, Matthew 13:6.