Everything rides on HOPE!

Hope is my favorite subject because it is what gives us life and sustains our joy. It is what keeps me going!

In 1991 when I was 26 years old a young mother of two little boys my mother was in a car accident that left her severely brain injured. So many expectations and hopes for the future died the day of that accident. I knew my mom would never play the role that I had expected her to play in my life or the lives of my children again. In the months following her accident while we waited for my mother to emerge from a coma, I found myself slipping deeper and deeper into a dark place. I remember watching my beautiful little boys playing at the park and thinking to myself, "Will I ever be able to enjoy anything again?"

One day in the midst of my disappointment and anger I pleaded with God to give me something to hold onto. I opened my Bible and went to Psalms because I knew that to be an encouraging book. Here is what the author had written:

I would have despaired had I not known that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

The whole idea of eternal perspective began to become clear to me and I have been clinging to it ever since. We will one day see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. My mom will be healed in the land of the living. I will be reunited with my loved ones in the land of the living. This lifetime is a dying flame but the land of the living is eternal!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

That is where my hope lies. But not only has He given us hope for the eternal future but He has given us hope for today. We can have joy in the journey.... His mercies are new every morning! The answer to my question "Will I ever be able to enjoy anything again?" was and is a resounding "YES!"

Hope was not given to us just for our own satisfaction. It was given to us to give away. And what happens when you give hope to someone else is amazing! You will find that your own healing comes when you share the hope that you have.

The principle is clearly stated in Isaiah 58:6-9

Share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked clothe him, and do not turn away from your own flesh and blood.
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

The holiday season can be a difficult time for many people. Maybe it is a painful reminder of unmet expectations. There are so many people in need of hope. Those of us that have hope must reach out to those struggling to find it. We can't solve all of the world's problems but we can make a difference in the lives of those around us one person at a time.

I wish I could say that the period of my mom's accident was the only time I have struggled with dark days but unfortunately that is not the case. But hope is what has brought me through every season of my life and it is the basis of For the Girls International.

My pastor asked me to share my story last week with our church and here is the video of our conversation.




Click here to watch video.

Wishing you all the beauty of this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus the reason for this hope we have!

Lots of Love,
Tracey