Hope.

As I sit in the center of my living room, surrounded by what has been left by Christmas, I smile.  This is the first Christmas in a while that I have felt the wings of happiness gently caressing my heart.  It is not because of any material gift I have received.  It is not because of any of the food that I will have to exercise away later.  It is not because I am currently at home in Kentucky, the place I always dreamed that I would be for the duration of my life.

It is because of hope.

Hope is such a beautiful thing.  When I think of it, I visualize it as this massive covering of pure white.  As if hope itself is a weightless, pure emotion that can withstand anything.  It is not meant to be a heavy burden.  Hope, instead, is what saves us.  Romans 8:24-25 says, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

We often have to exercise patience in order to attain the subjects our hearts hope for.  My heart hopes for many things.  It hopes for purpose and a life that leaves a legacy of faith.  It hopes for a godly love that glorifies Christ and cradles my heart and the heart of my love.  It hopes for children and a vast family at some point in life.  It hopes for a ministry that encourages, pursues, and leaves people in awe, not because of who I am, but because of who He is and what He is capable of doing through someone as inexperienced as I am.  But most importantly, my heart hopes to one day see Jesus.  To walk the streets of gold and be in eternal fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ and the One who created me.  

Because my heart hopes for these things, it means they haven't happened yet.  It means I can't see them; they are not blessings that I have received.  But because I do not see them and I yet hope for them, then I will wait for them with patience as the scripture instructs me to do.  And in the meantime, while I'm waiting, God has blessed me with the beautiful essence of hope. 

The great thing about being a child of God is that nothing is ever hopeless.  It is in God's character to bless us because He loves us so sincerely and purely.  It breaks my heart so much to hear people say that they no longer have hope in a situation, but I also know that my God works in the hopeless battles.  Testimonies upon testimonies of people who have, at one time, given up hope only to have God come in behind them and show them what He's truly capable of assures me that nothing is ever without hope. 

So as you're sitting there, reading this blog, wondering how God could possibly move in your situation, let me reassure you that there is hope.  There is always hope.  My Bible defines hope as the saving element in life.  Don't give up in the middle of a chapter when God has a blessing waiting for you at the end of it.  It's not easy to have hope, especially when your deepest insecurities and biggest fears are staring you directly in the face.  But if you will hold on and have patience, your hope will not be in vain.  If you allow hope to settle over your soul and embrace you, especially when you're broken, you will be amazed at how God can work in your life and your situation.