Hope

Hello, again. Thanks for visiting the website today.

We ordered Chinese food for dinner tonight. It’s such an easy meal and the clean up is a breeze. As most of you know, fortune cookies are included with the meals. Usually the messages are cliche or trite, but today’s message had meaning for me.

“Hope is the most precious treasure to a person.”

Those words transported me to scripture and also back to memories of my dad.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11

“But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Those verses are not only familiar, but they are encouraging and comforting.

When my dad was in the last two years prior to his passing he ended up in a wheelchair due to his nemesis– weak legs. However he was often prescribed rounds of physical therapy to increase the strength in his thin and wobbly legs. He loved the physical therapy for one reason–hope.

My dad for a full year believed that if he worked hard and the therapists kept pushing him, he would gain enough strength to walk. In his words, “As long as you have hope, it is everything.”

My dad never really walked on his own those last two years, but I remember speaking with him by phone on a “good day” when he was able to make it 100 steps with the help of a walker and a PT associate. That he thought was a sign of an even better day to come.

Psychology Today states that ” Hope can help us manage stress and anxiety and cope with adversity. It contributes to our well-being and happiness…”

What makes you hopeful?

–a robin prancing in the back yard?

–a new baby?

–a transition in life?

–a good medical report?

–God’s word?

Hope is an amazing fuel.

Hope is help. Hope makes us whole.

AMEN.