Hope Victorious

Last week, during the worship service at my church, I was praying for my son and an unresolved medical issue he is dealing with. During worship I had thought of all that has been required of him, the threat against his well-being, the unknown and my heart filled again with concern and desire.   “God! Please heal him!” was my cry.   As I continued to pray quietly, standing next to him, I heard in the spirit, “shh – be still!”   I was surprised; did the Holy Spirit just “shush” my prayers?!   Isn’t it good to pray?  Are we not commanded to do so?  Philippians 4:6 immediately came to mind:  “ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”   Or think of when Jesus was teaching about prayer and told His followers, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.   For everyone who asks...

The loss of your friendship is no small thing My heart remembers you and still I love you In me there is a vacancy - the perfect shape of you      I have built a bridge to you Love is a risk – to give and receive Love makes you vulnerable to be hurt We opened our hearts to one another Shared life – joy and pain alike Now the absence of you is painful to bear When hurt and questions get loud inside my mind I return on my knees to the bridge I remember the times we laughed and cried together I rehearse the journey we shared – how you walked with me and I with you We shared strength and faith Walked together in joy and sorrow I remember what I know to be true of you I choose to let this truth rise up above the pain of losing you Questions and things I don’t understand The details that caused this separation I refuse to build a wall of my pain and my confusion      Instead - I build my bridge There is strength in all that we have shared I remember it until I fe...

Imagine holding a promise in the cupped palms of your hands. A precious promise that your nurture with hope. The worth of a promise is determined by the degree of trust and value you have for the one who made the promise. The promise is yours, held in your hands, but it is connected to the one who gave it. Without the connection to the one who made the promise, you hold only a wish… A promise is so much greater than a wish! If you are convinced that the one who made the promise is willing and able to keep it and deliver on it, then the promise is of great value. A guarantee! A promise is both given and received. It is a party of two or more. A wish starts with us and is not attached to anything greater. We are alone to make our wishes come true. But a promise comes towards us from someone else and it is their ability that determines the outcome, as long as we receive the promise.   A promise given, but left unreceived, is a good intention. There are many promises in the...

“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices” - My favorite lyric of all Christmas songs.   Hope – a whisper, distant and quiet. A delicate thread with an imperceptible pull.   This is not the end The best is yet to come I’m going to be ok It IS working… Don’t give up! I’m stronger than I think Nothing is impossible with God These truths seem small at first, but as I give them my attention, my full gaze, and hold on - The pull intensifies - I am moved from weariness into greater life. It’s not too late You are making a difference Look at how far you’ve come Never give up There is an uprising of hope.   Possibility – Potential Maybe there is more Perhaps it is better than I can see right now And that thread of hope becomes a life line.   It moves me from weariness, discouragement and sorrow into hope, gratitude and wonder. A thrill of hope, my weary soul rejoices. I give thanks.   I celebrate. And then I choose to continue eve...

Life has grown up from the ruins of my past.   The barren places, once torn and broken, have been repaired and I find that I am restored.   The ashes of what I lost, once covered me in shame.   The remnant of my pain clung to every surface, penetrated every crevice. A future, once bright with hope, was dull and without light.   Love called to me in my devastation and invited me to be comforted.   I heard it in the acceptance of dear friends, who tenderly peeled back the layers to find me.   I felt it in the peaceful rest I experienced in worship.   The truths I heard of this God were so different than what I had learned all those years ago.   I had known God to be a tyrant, angry and accusing.   I feared the shame of him, for I had fallen short.   I had left my home, run from my past and from this burden of a standard too high to ever meet. But now this was confronted with love that was tender and true.   My hardness was met w...

  I see you Even the places where you hide from others The loneliness and sorrow you have tucked away Behind your determined smile – Beneath your hopeful words I see your disappointments I hear the questions that rise up from their loss I hear your secret longings and the places of wondering how it might have been I see you and I know you I see how you keep trusting and moving Even when you are afraid, unsure and feeling small I see you hoping and finding the smallest joys I see your effort – Your persistent determination But I also see your weariness - the fear that lurks below I see you   -   I know you I know you feel alone It is understanding that you desire most To be listened to carefully To be remembered and thought of in the details Surprised by compassion – Celebrated with joy You too are worth the time taken, the choice to slow down You are worth the words spoken, repeated again, and even again You are treasured and valu...

The “onion analogy” has long been used in various counseling applications.  With its many layers, the onion symbolizes the journey towards healing and wholeness.   You work through one layer and discover another.   The “peeling back of layers” has been used to describe the process of discovering one’s true identity and the roots of various issues that a person deals with.   As you go deeper in discovery, one layer at a time, you find and deal with the source or deeper reason for reactions, behaviors, feelings, etc. As a survivor of trauma and sexual abuse, who has seen various kinds of counselors over the years, I have heard about “the onion”.   I understand the picture and its purpose, but honestly, I have despised the onion analogy!   From the first time I heard it and every time for years following, it was depressing and defeating.   To me it sounded like a torture sentence:   the forecast of my future is layer after layer of working through pa...