“HOPE” has become my new favorite four letter word!

There was a time when I felt like all hope was lost…there was no expectation of anything good anymore for me.

My life looked good…my kids were healthy, my husband was (and definitely still is) handsome and kind, I had a (and have) good job…unfortunately, all these “things” could be taken from me in an instant…

and I knew it.

With all I loved at risk where is the good, I asked?

I am a glass is half full person…definitely a positive thinker…a cheerleader at heart if you will. I have a friend that will get into a discussion about this that I find rather humorous:

I find this particular answer amusing–

It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?

The reality is we can allow ourselves to be put into two categories if we so desire:

But, as my friend says, it’s still just a glass and

My cup went from half-full to half-empty….and I needed a refill badly!

In my quest, I stumbled into the open arms of One who offered me living water so I would no longer thirst…no matter how full the glass was!

In my discovery, as this water cleansed me as it filled me, a new sensation took hold:

How crazy is that?! I went from half-full, to half-empty, to overflowing suddenly!

It is important to note that my situation had not changed…but the inside of me did.

HOPE had returned!

I again began to expect good things to happen…even when bad things were swirling around me…

In this transformation, I am put in a place to share this incredible gift with others. I am often astounded that I am allowed to do what it is I do…

Last night, became another one of those moments.

I facilitate a grief support class called GriefShare ( www. griefshare.org ). For 28 weeks of the year, every year since 2011, I sit in a room with people from my community who have recently suffered a death in their lives or are struggling with a loved ones death that occurred either traumatically or years ago.

In this class I have walked beside grieving parents of children way too young to die, grieving children as they buried their precious parent, grieving spouses whose lives have been forever altered by the fragmented ripping away of the love of their life, grieving siblings who have lost the one they have known their entire lives, and more.

In this class I have met mothers whose children succumbed to suicide, fathers whose attempts at CPR failed when they came upon the lifeless body of their child, spouses that woke up to find their mate forever gone to them, families that struggle to understand car accidents that can steal a loved ones life, individuals that hate cancer as much as most hate the idea of an intruder invading a home and stealing all that is precious while destroying what remains, and so much more.

Where is their expectation of good?

How full is their glass?

This is what I do, week after week…I sit with them and listen. I have Kleenex available and Root Beer Barrel’s on the table.

Last night, I had 13 join me.

13:1 is a pretty significant ratio…with me on the top because their grief burden is

What do I do?

I offer the only thing I have…my new favorite four letter word

I am drenched in it.

It has been poured over me and into me…overflowing out of me…

When I think of all the pain and fear in this world, I think what can I do? I am but one person…

I think of those affected by Harvey and Irma…the families of 5 teenagers senselessly killed in a reckless driving accident in Kalamazoo, Michigan…those suffering from depression and lack of self worth…

My heart aches to comfort them.

Yet, I have HOPE.

When something is overflowing, what happens?

It spills out and keeps spreading until the source of water is turned off, right?

LIVING WATER DOES NOT GET TURNED OFF—INSTEAD, IT KEEPS FLOWING!

This HOPE that is in me will continue to spill out and spread…yes, I am one person but I am not alone in the battle against hopelessness!

Hebrews 10:23, therefore, speaks loudly to me and for me as I accept my responsibility to fight this battle for those who have been weakened by the warzone of loss, sickness, addiction, depression, and confusion!

To “unswervingly” do something means to stay firm…perhaps to be anchored into something so securely so we will not waiver nor be swayed….there will be NO DRIFTING!

That’s how I hang onto hope…I anchor into it…I grasp it with all I have…I cling to WHO I am rooted into that keeps me secure!!

I believe in the fulfillment of the promises made by God because He who promised them is faithful.

If you have HOPE, I dare you to share it!