Hope.....Expect With Confidence

Funny stories are great! We all love a good one. But this week, something has come up that just makes me feel not so inspired to find the funny.

Today, however, I am inspired by the word hope.

Hope is a great word! It means to expect with confidence. Life has a way of teaching us these things. But it's through a risen Savior that we learn to expect it.

What causes hope to rise up? Change.

Change has many faces. It can be exhilarating and heart warming, yet depressive. It can be calming and peaceful, yet fearful. Change is progressive and expected. Think about the seasons. It amazes me that not only in the seasons do things change, but how our lives seem to mimic their changes. We go through springs of renewal, new growth and great hope. Summers of sweltering heat, causing us to question and sweat. Falls of great color which come from inevitable changes.

It, also, amazes me how our lives interconnect with others, sort of like the roots of a tree and that when things happen within that network....it affects us all. We can have happy, healthy roots, new growth of spring and then in the heat of summer.....a storm. The storm may cause damage to the branches...it may even snap them off. But if you look close enough, the roots are strong and remain unscathed. And from the damage, new growth and new hope appears almost immediately.

I've come to the conclusion that HOPE is God's promise.....no matter how often or how strong the storms, there will be renewal. You will experience a strength and endurance you never knew you had. There is a plan.

From the Creator himself comes the greatest of declarations...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Today as always, that's where I'm putting my hope and faith.

Happy Easter!!

Laurie