All Hope Is NOT Lost!

Last night, one of my student's facebook status read, "I don't want to be here anymore."  I had an idea what he was dealing with.  It was probably a breakup.  As adults, we look at such relationships as trivial and flighty.  However, to the broken hearted teen, it is anything but trivial.  Momentarily, he has lost all hope.

How does Webster define hope?  Hope is a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.  It is a wonderful thing to have hope for a given situation.  The situation may be grave.  Doctors say there is a 90% mortality rate.  Yet, the deep seated hope within us says that there is still a chance of survival.  The chance may be small, but hope clings to that chance and believes that it will happen.

What are we to do when we realize that the expectation will not become a reality.  The alternate reality stares us in the face, taunting us, "Why did you even dare to hope?"  At that moment, we are tempted to lose all hope.  Look at all the wasted energy that went into hoping.  Now what?...  Now, my friend, you cling to the whisper of a thought that you will not always feel the despair that you are currently experiencing.

I drive thirty minutes out into the country to teach. The first year I taught, I would get to work very early. Every morning, I would pass by Alexis as she was standing at the end of her road waiting for the school bus. We didn't even know each other's name, but that was our first connection.

Since then, I have had the privilege to teach her.  We had our good days that year, when we laughed and learned much. However, life also dealt us both some bad days. During those times, it just wasn't much fun. She and I have a special saying that we shared on such days: Tomorrow will be a better day!

It is a simple a statement of hope. In the moment, for whatever reason, you feel as though a black hole has opened up and swallowed you into the chaos of darkness and nothingness.  You have no reason to believe that you will ever feel better again.  But, you make a conscious choice to believe that you will not stay stuck in the quagmire. It usually starts out as a state of mind. There may not be one shred of evidence that life will get better. In actuality, it seems to only have the possibility to get worse.

A good friend gave me a wonderful illustration. She said, imagine that you are in a dark tunnel. You look down that seemingly endless darkness and see nothing. Then you look again. There it is! At the very end is one small ray of light squeezing its way through the keyhole that will eventually be your escape from the darkness. It is then that you can say, "Yes, tomorrow will be a better day."

Life can take many things away from you, but there is one thing that noone or nothing can ever steal from you:  Hope.  I believe Martin Luther King, Jr said it best, "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

Psalm 71:14 (New International Version, ©2010)

14 As for me, I will always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.

I loved them all.

As I was working on a sewing project last week, I placed a small bowl on the table beside the machine.  When I cut excess thread, I would drop the pieces into the bowl.  A couple of hours into the project, there was a small mound of thread.  I looked at it and smiled.  It was Mrs. Mattie Lou that taught me that trick many years ago.  I was a young mother and she was a member of our church.  When it came to sewing, she was more than a seamstress.  She was an artist. 

I loved being a pastor's wife and truly felt as though God had placed me right where I was supposed to be.   When my marriage ended, that role ended as well.  Initially, I struggled greatly with that.  I truly enjoyed the opportunity to have so many wonderful people as a part of my life.  The wealth of knowledge that I have gained from so many of those wise parishoners has greatly shaped me into the person that I am today. 



My dear Elizabeth

 Before there was extreme couponing, it was Elizabeth who taught me how to shop the sale papers.  She was the one who taught me that $0.79/lb was a really good price for chicken.  I still think of her when I bake her squash casserole or chicken pot pie.  Often, I quote her when I ask someone to pray for something, "If the Lord reminds you, would you please pray for..."

I guess God saw that I was lacking in self discipline, so he brought Jan into my life when we pastored in Montgomery.  Every morning at 5:10, she was waiting by my driveway.  We were off for a brisk two mile walk.  This was no morning stroll, mind you!  It was a hustle.  She was a few years older and many years wiser than this young mother.  When I complained about a church member that I thought was being incredibly different to deal with, she would just smile and chuckle a little and say, "Amy, just be glad you are not them."  I have sure used that line many times in the years that followed.

In Slapout, He continued to bring more good friends into my life.  Karen taught me that you can let go of bitterness, even when you have been greatly wronged.  Alice taught me how to cook incredible fried rice and egg rolls.  Ms. Jo showed me how to cling to your faith even after losing your only child and husband within a few short months.  Whenever I am tempted to lose heart, I think of many of these dear friends and it gives me a little boost to carry on.

This list is by no means exhaustive.  There were so many others that added so much spice to the flavor of my life.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude when I think of all that I have gained.  Above all, I am thankful for the love and compassion that been poured out to me through the years. 

There is rarely a month that passes without Charles giving me a call.  He was an older member of the Baptist congregation in Slapout, but we called him one of our own.  When he calls, he always ends the conversation by saying, "You know God loves you and you know I do too."  I do know that he loves me and that has given me great comfort during some very difficult moments.

With just as much strength and certainty as God brought the call to be a the wife of a minister to me, he released me.  That was a wonderful part of my life, but I no longer miss being in that role.  He has moved me to different areas of minister and I never look back with longing, only gratitude.

Mrs. Mattie Lou taught me just about everything I know about sewing.  I would proudly take my completed projects to her.  The first thing she would do was turn them inside out.  She always said that they should look as good on the inside as they did on the outside.  Even though she was holding a small smocked dress in her hands, she was teaching me about life.  At times, each and every one of us are going to have our lives turned inside out for the world to see.  I learned from Mrs. Mattie Lou, that I should live my life in such a way, that when those times comes, the world will see ragged and torn edges that have been beautiful finished by the hand of the Master Tailor.