The Year of Hope

The year 2020 has been a difficult one for all. No question. However, I’m also going to dub it The Year of Hope. Collectively, we have all done a lot of hoping. We have hoped that Covid-19 would just go away, hoped we could get together with our loved ones, hoped our loved ones would not get sick, hoped we could keep our jobs and businesses, hoped we could travel again soon, hoped schools would reopen, hoped our Presidential candidate would win, hope that society would learn to love and value each and every person, hoped the fires would die out…. Hope is what has gotten us through thus far. Hope is the expectation that something good will happen; a feeling of trust. We need hope in our lives. Without it we would be facing a life of doom and gloom.

I’m sure you have hoped for many of those same things. But are you feeling hopeful? If you answered no, my next question would be do you have faith in God? Faith can be defined as “a strong belief; complete trust”. In order to have hope we must have faith. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” God is the source of our hope when we have faith in Him.

Hope from God brings with it the feelings of joy and peace. Joy and peace are for today and hope is for the future. Often it’s during times of trouble or hardship that we really find ourselves in need of hope. Can we also experience joy and peace at the same time then? I say definitely yes BUT only when we have God present in our lives. When I think of 2020, I have hoped for all the things I mentioned at the beginning of this post. And although I’m still waiting for most of it, I know and trust it will eventually happen and have tried to be patient. I have also experienced great joy and peace over the past year. I have seen busy lives slowing down to the point that families spend more time together being creative and playing games. I have seen people connecting with and looking out for their neighbors more. Working from home has allowed for less commuting and more savings (I for one have saved a lot on gas, lunch and coffee). Personally, although my husband has been out of work, it has been a joy getting to spend more time with him and I have peace knowing God will provide for us until another job comes his way. I could go on and on. I am sure if you gave it some thought, you too, could come up with some ways you have experienced joy and peace during the pandemic. And I can allow myself to experience this joy and peace because I trust God loves us, has a plan for our lives and that this pandemic will eventually be part of our history.

I am filled with gratitude to God that I have been given hope, joy and peace during this time. I haven’t always experienced those feelings, though, and at times, couldn’t believe I ever would. If this is where you find yourself right now, please reach out to me or someone else. You are not alone.

Love, Melissa

PS. You may or may not have noticed, I took last week off. I tried to write but I was coming up with nothing. I think part of the problem was that I was so focused on one verse when my mind had so many thoughts. After all, this is such a busy time of year. So instead of choosing a verse ahead of time, I am just going to see where God leads me for next week. Stay tuned!