The subject above is an Addison Road Song.  This afternoon I want to discuss HOPE.  There are many reasons for this, but before I go there let me start out with a relevant verse that I came upon as I was reading one of my devotional books in the past and the chorus to the aforementioned song. 

Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” 

Chorus:  Everything rides on hope now, everything rides on faith somehow, when the world has broken me down your love sets me free.

Many of you know that several years ago I was a co-chair for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event in Delaware.  Prior to that, I showed up at the event in the evening or first thing Saturday morning for a small window to support my friends who were involved, but didn’t really get the full impact until I spent the entire night walking the track among the luminary bags with memory notes and honorariums.  I think all of these experiences opened a window toward recognizing the power of hope.   A window that has only been expanded through so many different life experiences. 

Want to know what makes me happy?  To see others happy, healthy, smiling, and experiencing joy.  Want to know what inspires me?  To watch those that may be near their last breath smiling to give others around them strength.  Want to know what carries me when I’m lost and know I’ve failed (which in my mind happens all the time)?  HOPE.  Hope that I can and will do whatever God’s will may be even when it’s against all conventional logic and against what this world sees as safe.  Up until a couple of years ago I played everything safe and worried constantly about what everybody thought of me.  I definitely had Faith and I definitely was a Christian, but I wasn’t bold about anything and I certainly wasn’t a Disciple and I didn’t carry Christ like love wherever I went. Again, as always I recognize not all of you are Christians, but I give that to you as context for my own experience. 

Sometimes others have looked at me and wonder why I approach life the way I do.  It’s not only because of the trials I’ve endured but also because I think deeper than I ever have before and I consciously try to figure out God’s will when I do anything.  I’m not the same person I used to be.  I guess that is good in many ways, but also probably very frustrating in many ways to those that knew me before.  I once focused on the negative of not being who I was before and looked at is a bad thing, but I’ve recognized that negative is for the devil and I’m focusing on the positive… the positive that I don’t have to be perfect to show love.  Yes, I may not be the example of how to do everything and manage everything, but I pray those that read my words in my posts see that passion is still there and so is Hope. 

Ever thought your spirit was crushed?  Ever been accused of it by others?  Ever been left asking what to do next?  Of course you have.  We all have.  How many of us only focus on what we’ve lost inside though instead of what we gain from all of our experiences?  How many of us truly rejoice in the wisdom and hope that God gives us instead of questioning the present and the future?  Doubters beware… God has bigger plans for all of us!  I saw it in the survivors’ eyes at relay for life, see it in men and women that overcome every day, and I feel it in my soul and in the souls of those I love. 

Let us remember that everything really does come down to Hope and Love!  I believe this love is from God.  And we are held.  Truly held if we allow it.  Not because of Who we are… because LOVE finds us regardless of Who we are!

Don’t lose hope… Focus on it!