Happy April to you! As I move past Easter and begin to anticipate the hurried nature of May, my heart longs for Hope–an anchor for my soul. As you and I navigate many spaces that are heavy and polarized, it is essential that we actively pursue Hope to move forward. It is a certainty of a better tomorrow, an eternity that is released of all pain and hardship. Knowing about Hope and pursuing Hope are two different things. I am actively chasing and finding it in these places:
-Walking a trail that feels like home to my soul but continues to surprise me with beauty. My daughter commented recently, “I don’t know how you walk on that same path almost every day.” There is something comforting about the familiarity of the path, combined with observing something new. Where can you go today that feels familiar and comforting, much like heaven?
-Coming alongside a client who is getting ready to graduate high school and seeing her Identity in Christ blossoms as she begins to navigate the next season. Who can you pour into today that will make an eternal difference?
-Talking with my brother and receiving a timely reminder that “God gives us exactly what we need each day.” So simple, yet so true and reassuring. What counsel could you share today that would shift someone’s perspective to eternity?
-Learning about The Lord’s Prayer in a fresh way. I have casually recited this prayer my whole life, but Brad Gray and Brad Nelson’s text, “Bringing Heaven Here,” has shifted my perspective. To think that even the first phrase, “Our Father,” means that I have a dad who sees, moves, and delivers me from trouble makes me feel hopeful. Could saying this prayer today lift your eyes to something greater than your circumstances?
-Sitting with a precious friend and caretaker over lunch this month, realizing that God never wastes pain. If you are walking through a season of suffering, the Lord is near and will use your experiences to bring encouragement and compassion to another. How could you use your pain today to encourage another to see the eternal value in suffering?
Each of these instances involves the temporal, but what brings Hope is the eternal. Where are you finding Hope right now? Chase it and I am confident you will find it.
Thriving Together,
~Erin
