Charisa Stories

Tag: hope

  • Hump Day Hope : Come on. Say it! Say it!

    Hump Day Hope : Come on. Say it! Say it!

    The use of Hump Day to describe the midweek turning point has been around for awhile. It became a bigger part of the national lexicon thanks to a commercial and a camel.

    camel2

     

    I wish I was mature enough to say I was only mildly amused by the Geico commercial featuring the overbearing camel wandering through an office. I can’t. I stopped whatever I was doing every time it came on.

    The hope of this humble rambling each Wednesday is to provide a little hope to get you to the weekend. This is how hope is defined as a verb by dictionary.com.

    …to feel that something desired may happen.
    Example: I hope that the Cleveland Browns will play in a Super Bowl before I die. It is interesting that the next meaning of the verb hope is noted as archaic.
    …Archaic. to place trust; rely (usually followed by in)
    Call me archaic (my sons and workmates often do) but that definition is what I need this Hump Day. In a world gone crazy I need some place to put my trust that is trustworthy.
    Billy Graham summarized it beautifully.
    “God’s mercy and grace give me hope – for myself, and for our world.“
    Well played. I believe that ultimately God’s sovereign plan will be completed in this world. What I need on Hump Day is hope for myself to be able to deal with the cards that life is dealing. Pastor/writer Rick Warren has a helpful reminder.
    “What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.”
    So instead of trying to figure out why I am going through a trial with something or someone I should turn to the One who offers hope that I can persevere. Paul talks about hope in his amazing letter to the church at Rome.
    For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. (Romans 8:24-25, NET)
    And what is that hope?
    For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. (Colossians 1:4-5, NLT)
    I have wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why. That is a waste of precious time. My hope and my trust is in Jesus. Together we have this. Or as Paul more eloquently wrote.
    Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. (Romans 12:12, NLT)
    It is okay to be archaic. You can be old school if that makes you feel better. But remember where your hope is today. I give the last word to my friend the camel. “Awww, come on! I know you can hear me!”

  • Perspective

     

    I recently visited a large rehabilitation hospital for patients dealing with spinal cord injuries, strokes and traumatic brain trauma. As I walked  toward my car I noticed two young men in wheelchairs chatting near the entrance. I overheard a snippet of conversation that rocked my day. The tone was not bitter nor sad. This is the sentence I overheard.

    “I would give it all up just to be able to scuba dive one more time.”

    What this young man once did without thought or difficulty now was a nearly impossible dream. My heart was pierced. Just that morning I had fussed about a balky hip and yet I was walking freely to my car. I often thought about an aching shoulder but I had freedom to lift and move. All of us take so much for granted. Since that encounter I think of that young man when my hip or shoulder aches. I say a quick prayer of thanksgiving for the health I am blessed with today. But this awareness will wear off. It always does. That makes me sad. But it also makes me human.

    Jesus knows all about our frailties. How we worry about things that really don’t matter.

    “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6, NLT

    My friend Ray Pritchard posted a little prayer years ago that I loved so much that my wife got it framed. It sits by my bathroom sink and I need to review it more closely each morning.

    Heavenly Father,

    You are in charge of everything that will happen to me today – the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the positive and the negative. Please make me thankful for everything that happens to me today.

    Amen