Hope

Remember being a child? I do. Although now I long for the ease of childhood, when I was a child, all I wanted to do was grow up. My friends and I would play House, but with a twist. We'd pretend that the climbing trees in my yard were homes and each of us (sometimes paired) would live in each tree and be neighbors. Our bikes were our cars that got us to our neighbors' houses and to and from work. Of course, since none of us really knew what kind of jobs adults had, we would mostly skip over that part. Usually, a bike ride around the yard meant we'd gone to work and come back. At home (our trees), we'd do the things we observed our parents accomplish: cook dinner, read magazines and the newspaper, do the dishes, etc.

While pretending to be adults, we had this expectation of actually being adults one day. We knew we growing older every year and that it was only a matter of time before we too would have jobs, cars and responsibilities. All we needed to do was wait long enough.

In Scripture, this is called hope. Don't get this word confused with "wish." According to Dictionary.com, "wish" means to "desire, want and long for." On the surface, it seems that wishing is fine. Sure, we wanted, desired and longed to be adults as kids. However, the word "hope" adds a detail that's vital to its meaning. According to Websters Dictionary, hopes means, "a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it."  The Hebrew term for hope varies, sense the word doesn't exist in this language. Instead, we translate words like "trust" and the like into "hope." In Greek, the words "hope" and "wait" mean to expect or trust. It's not just that we wanted to be adults, we expected to be adults eventually.

With these definitions in mind, look closely at these verses.
Psalms 39:7 "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you."
Psalms 62:5 "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him."
Romans 8:25 "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

I was personally struck with this when I ran across Galatians 5:5, "But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope." You see, I'm often very down on myself and don't believe I could ever be righteous. I listen to Satan's accusation of my past, and I waver. I may want to be righteous, but I hardly expect to be one day.
This verse was like a rush of cool water to a soar throat. God told me, as I read his Word, that I should expect to receive righteousness through the Spirit. This is a promise that he would fulfill.  Not by my efforts, of course, but by the Spirit that God has given freely. The Spirit I know is living within me. I need to trust that God loves me and will do as he says he will.

So when I, or you, if you are like me, feel like there is no hope in the world, we need to say to ourselves, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalms 43:5)"

The Child and the Pebble.

This is the CUTEST STORY EVER!

Our school's playground consists of two parts sand, one part grass and one part rocks. No, sorry, not rocks. Gravel. With lots and lots of tiny pebbles. One day, a sweet little girl found one such tiny pebble. This one was special because it was smooth on one side and round on the other. Another teacher told her to call it a wishing stone and to rub the smooth side with her thumb when she made a wish. The little girl was overjoyed and couldn't wait to show her mommy.
That is, until she dropped it.
She wasn't lucky enough to lose her wishing stone in the sand or the grass. No, the treasure fell into a large area of gravel. Needless to say, she was devastated.
This is when I came in...
I found her crying hysterically while brushing her hand though the rocks on the ground. I asked her what was wrong and, after decrypting her sobs, figured it out. I honestly held no hope that she would find her wishing stone, especially after she'd shuffled all the gravel with her fingers. I pulled her into my arms and let her cry and tried to soothe her disappointment. Not being able to calm her down, I bend down and searched for her stone. Obviously, I didn't find it. Why I did what I did next, I still don't know. Who would chance giving false hope to a small child?
Apparently, me.
I told the little girl that God might let her find it if she prayed and asked (the school is Christian so I totally got away with it!). Bless her heart, she prayed with me that God might reveal her stone.
Believe it or not, this time when she searched, SHE FOUND IT! God did a mighty deed that afternoon.
Many weeks later, on the National Day of Prayer, another little girl, one who had observed us that day, mentioned in a conversation about prayer that God had answered her friend's and found her rock. My heart was struck when I realized not one but two girls had learned the power of prayer that day. Wow.


Mark 10:15 "I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."
Matthew 7:7 "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."
Matthew 21:22 "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it."
1 Peter 5:7 "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."

This story proves all of the above and more!

Happy Endings

Ah, the ending of fairy tales. Without fail, the man and woman ride off into the sunset, or kiss at their wedding, or simply hold each other, whispering promises of faithfulness and love. Words added or assumed, they live happily ever after...
I know what you are thinking: Pa-lease! Yeah right. No one lives happily ever after. Couples fight, especially married couples. What's not written on the pages or seen in the scenes are the angry words the wife spews after her husband leaves his dirty boxers on the floor (a foot away from the hamper) for the upteenth time. And how about the ugly expression the husband gives his wife when he discovers (again) the thick clump of hair halfway down the sink? Let's not forget what children do to a relationship. Apparently adding little combination clones decreases the happiness reported by couples. Yeah, drops way low. 

So why are we lying to our children??? Why tell these stupid stories that do not reflect real life? Why make them believe that good guys always win and that everything turns out all right in the end? Why let them go through life with an optimistic lie in their tiny, gullible minds? 

BECAUSE IT IS NOT A LIE! Wait, what?

Yes, this life has strife and trials, but this life also has a happy ending. The happiest ending ever! Christ has conquered and won. Satan and his followers have lost the war. We have victory in Jesus! It will be as romantic as those cheesy love stories too. Revelation 19:7 says, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." We are the bride of Christ. Isn't that exciting?  We even get our knight who will come and rescue us. Revelation 19 describes Jesus as a knight on a white horse. Okay, maybe not as a knight, but a warrior with the armies of Heaven behind him. That's even better! Death won't even be a threat: "Where, o death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corin. 15:55)."

Who could ask for a better happily-ever-after than that?

It could have been worse

Let me tell you about a terrible event that happened to me two or three years ago. My dad almost died. He suffered from a septic infection and calapsed in his trailer alone. He lay unconscious for 14-16 hours before being found. While in the waiting room, a man came in and sat with my grandmother and me. He seemed nice enough, but nervous. Grandma asked who he was there to see, and he said his grandmother. Shortly afterward, a nurse called the waiting room to tell us that dad wanted to see us. Not wanting to carry all my stuff for the upteenth time, I left my bright pink backpack. When we returned, my wallet was missing and the man was gone. Come to find out, there were no elderly women in the ICU that day.
I wasn't at home in Kirksville. I was three hours away, so I didn't have my birth certificate with me to replace my ID.
BUT...I have an amazing boss who gave me the week off to be with my dad in the hospital. My dad lived and is doing very well now. The man didn't steal my backpack, which held my laptop. My husband also had/has amazing bosses who allowed him to bring me my birth certificate and stay with me the rest of the week.

In other words, it could have been worse.

I was reading about Joseph yesterday, and as much as he suffered, God was still protecting him and using everything to His purpose. Yes, Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him, BUT Reuben convinced them to trap him instead. Yes, he was sold into slavery, BUT God used him to accomplish amazing tasks. Tasks that saved thousands of people from starving.

Often we forget how merciful God is being to us in the middle of strife. We miss all the blessings He provides along the way. The truth is that He's always there, always "working all things for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28)  So next time you find yourself in a terrible situation, try to remember that God's love never left you. Search for the blessing along the way and thank Him for them.

Let's face it... it could have been worse.