For those who’ve grown up in church, the Easter story is a familiar one. So familiar are the words hope and doubt, death and resurrection, that the true meaning of them lose their splendor. Sometimes their familiarity in our Easter vocabulary even breeds a heart-level boredom. So, when I was cruising through the Easter story a few years ago, I was shocked to find a verse I’d never noticed. Surely I’d read it before. At the very least I’d heard it. But I had certainly never stopped to consider … [Read more...]
The Remedy for Disappointment
It wasn’t the worst place for a baby to sleep, but I didn’t like the thought of putting a baby in a laundry basket. For a newborn it would be safe and portable, but I felt ashamed. Our second son was born ten weeks premature. A job change, a move, and his premature birth had drained our bank account. Our first son, just 14 months old at the time, was still in the crib and a new bed for him was not in the budget. We’d been financially responsible, made the wisest decisions we could, but … [Read more...]
When Uncertainty Rattles Your Hope
{Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash} It was an expensive, last-minute hotel reservation we didn’t want to make. It came with a seven-hour drive and a complimentary shuttle to the Mayo Clinic. With the help of a clinic scheduler and family members, my husband and I left our three sons with family, promised to get them home for their first day of the new school year, and scurried off to Rochester, Minnesota to get some answers. When my hope got rattled by uncertainty, I … [Read more...]
Is Hope Steadfast or Slippery?
Please enjoy this excerpt from the introduction of Remarkable Hope: When Jesus Revived Hope in Disappointed People. Steadfast Hope Hope. We use the word every day. I hope it doesn’t rain. I hope you feel better. I hope I get to sleep in. With the best intentions, we cast pleasant desires for ourselves and our friends into the air to vanish. We mean well, but we have precious little control over actual outcomes. I hope it doesn’t rain. (But there are … [Read more...]
Hope for this Life
Thomas Chisholm was not a formally educated man. But in 1941 he wrote in a letter, “My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness."* You will not be surprised to learn that a man who writes such a letter … [Read more...]