Hope

Hope... a powerful four letter word. Hope is so important to our lives. Without hope we have a bleak existance, just living day to day. I lost hope when I was very young. I was depressed and unhappy. I did not believe that my life could change for the better. It seemed that it was at a point that my life was only getting worse day by day. Losing hope led me to become suicidal. I was not looking for attention, I had thought I had lost my two children forever and I was looking for an end to my emotional pain of not being able to prevent the loss. (I was the custodial parent and they were kidnapped by my ex but they were returned to my custody but it took almost two years.)

 If I could tell the whole world a message, as much as I am a Christian and the standard message, I assume most Christians would probably choose, would be "Believe in Jesus". For me my message is be "Never Lose Hope!"

Many Christians might disagree with my choice but I believe that people are drawn to their beliefs as I was drawn to Jesus. There is a saying that sums up my feelings on trying to force people to believe in Jesus, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." Many Christians in their excitement and enthusiasm expect everyone to respond and "join in" because they found a treasure and want to share. Other Christians take a different tactic and try to condemn others to try and get them to "join in".  That many times turns people off to Christianity. My greatest witness to others about my faith and identity as a Christian is how I live my life. I strive to follow what Christ told us to do, to love one another.

As a Christian we are given hope in scripture that the Bible says we will become new beings as Jesus did and we will have eternal life. It is that hope that eases the pain from that we have endured in our lives. The hope that there is a reward of an existance living in a place that is beyond our wildest dreams where we will no longer suffer gives us the ability to have faith and continue on in our lives. Our ideals of success in our lives being one of accumlated possessions and popularity changes. It becomes  one of  forgiving others as we are forgiven when we made the choice to accept the gift of Jesus. We can overcome lifes obstacles and the thoughts that God does not love us and has punished us by giving us tragedy in our lives. 

For me "Never lose Hope" is an encouragement that can save lives on earth. When we lose hope, we have nothing. When we believe our lives can't change and nothing can be done we are done. It's a matter of game over and dying. With hope we can live believing in a better tomorrow!