@bethvogt
“There’s always hope,” my daughter Amy said.
“I’ll hope in a minute,” I told her.
I was sitting down, leaning over, grappling with some unexpected news. Unwanted news. The kind that takes your breath away, even as your eyes sting with tears.
You know what I mean, right?
For just a minute, you lose your grip on hope … and then your fingers tighten around the trustworthy expectation again before it slips away.
Got it.
Yes. There’s always hope.
My author-friend Cynthia Ruchti says, “I can’t unravel. I’m hemmed in hope.”
Some days threaten to fray our hearts, don’t they? We get bad news. Or someone we love needs a shoulder to lean on as they bear up under an unexpected heartache.
This life can feel like a maze of dark valleys. And while I believe God never leaves us or forsakes us, earthly trials try us. Hope seems thin — unable to hold up the weight of our troubles.
But my hope is not some man-made, prepackaged product you’ll find on a shelf at Target or Costco.
No.
My faith in God grants me room to be honest. To say, “I need to catch my breath. This grieves me — but I still have hope.” (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
My hope is eternal. Priceless. Grace-filled. The kind of hope that holds up under the weight of the most difficult days … that lights the way through dark valleys.
How’s your hope holding up this week?
Sometimes We Need to be Reminded There's Always Hope #encouragement #faith Click To Tweet 'I can't unravel. I'm hemmed with hope.' #quote by @cynthiaruchti #hope #trust Click To Tweet
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Comments 10
Cancer’s boulder stops the plow,
and I’ve hit the bloody limit.
I can’t really do it now,
but I’ll hope in a minute.
There is always hope, some say,
and they’re right, I know,
but I have yet to find a way
to hope away my Alamo,
to see the sun beyond the storm,
to hear the lark-song through the thunder,
to laugh when weeping is the norm…
how, oh Lord? I wonder!
But in this dark I must persist
to hold to hope that hope exists.
Author
” … to hold to hope that hope exists …”
I teared up as I read those words, Andrew.
That’s how we live some days.
Praying for you, my friend.
That’s a great quote. My hope has staggered a bit with a significant challenge but the Lord delights me by bringing songs to remembrance–some I barely even know. Today the one with the chorus, “Some through the fire, some through the flood, some through the water, but all through the blood…” with its verses has made me smile and bucked up my hope a bit. God is up to something good even if I can’t see it all yet.
Author
Dee: I love how God uses songs to encourage your heart — and remember how many times you’ve encouraged mine with songs, too.
Oh my, dear Beth, I doubly love this post. I, too, am grateful for the hope God gives us. He hems us tightly to Himself with perfect love.
I look forward to reading your novella. And I also adore Cynthia’s writing. Her latest book has blessed me so many times already as I apply the tips from Spouse in the House to my own home life.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac <3
Author
Wendy: Cynthia Ruchti is a walking, talking dose of hope. And I love her writing, too.
my hope is copacetic.
Author
🙂
I love Emily Dickinson’s poem about hope that starts this way: “Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
Author
Pat: I’ve come to appreciate Dickinson’s poem more and more.