Looking at the china my grandma collected with green stamps back in the day signaled hope for my future. At one point I packed away the same china for a potential second home because it didn’t fit my current style. I look at the same china today sitting in my “Peace of Heaven”, a home in the forest where I go to connect with God. Despite the seasons of my tastes around china patterns, this is an example of how we pass on a legacy of hope, by choosing hope.
I’m realizing in recent seasons of my life that hope, like love, is a choice. Just as there are loving feelings, there are hopeful feelings… but those are not the essence of the virtue. Hope is not dependent upon my ability to “see the silver lining” or point out the positive in a difficult situation.
Ultimately, hope is a theological virtue that comes from God Himself and is directed toward Him. But I get to choose whether or not to accept it.
As Lauren Daigle sings in the song O’Lord:
Though times it seems
Like I’m coming undone
This walk can often feel lonely
No matter what until this race is won
I will stand my ground where hope can be found
I can stand firm in hope and the confidence that with God as my portion, I have a legacy of hope that gives me strength. My cries are always heard and love lifts me out of the lies. I can question why but I can stand my ground where hope can be found.
We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
Thank you Lord for giving me Your legacy of hope.
Smitten With Goodness 