We Have This Hope

I never want my Christian faith to come across as fake. I never want it to seem like a list of do’s and don’ts that I am supposed to follow. Instead, it is a relationship with my Heavenly Father. So, through Soar, I choose to open up and share the pretty parts and the struggles of this journey. Our recital themes come from these experiences.

 Year 1, the theme was “Creation.” It was about celebrating God’s creations, becoming a new creation in Christ, and the creation of Soar.  Year 2 was “Stand.” I shared about my mom’s ongoing battle with dementia and choosing to stand on God’s Word. This year the theme is “We Have This Hope.” Hebrews 6:19 tells us that Jesus is our Hope and is an anchor for our soul. He steadies us when everything around us is shaking.

 In November 2003, Tommy and I’s world got shaken to its’ core. We wanted children early on in our marriage. We saw them as a gift from God. At 12 weeks along in our first pregnancy, I lost the baby. First came the grief. Next came anger. Last came the questions:

-How could the God I loved and trusted allow this?

-What good could possibly come from this?

Some thought I shouldn’t question God, but I believed God could handle my honest questions. We would walk through the world of infertility for several years after. In 2007, we had our daughter, Laney. In 2009, Ethan came. Those years of struggle and waiting taught me several lessons:

1. God does love us, but He doesn’t always do things according to our plans. Ouch!

2. Sometimes our hardships soften us to see when others are hurting.

3. There are some questions that won’t get answered this side of eternity.

4. Every season comes to an end. There are better days ahead! We have HOPE for our future!

I clung to this Scripture through those years: Psalm 27:13 says “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living.” This Scripture was a promise to me in the years of grief that God was still good and to have HOPE for my future.

I pray that our recital message ignites HOPE in you that God has a plan no matter what you are facing! He does see you and He does care!