Recently in Hope Category

Some fads seem to spring up in our culture and for a moment they are everywhere, and just as quickly, they are gone. I wondered at first whether Twitter, Facebook and other social media networking outlets that have spread like wildfire would share the same fate. It would seem however that they have found a place within our hearts, homes and daily lives that many of us would be reluctant to give up. At first, I just liked knowing where my friends were and what they were doing, but then something happened that changed everything for me. 

I read a 'tweet' from a friend asking for prayer for a little girl, Kate McRae, who is five years old and has been recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. There was a link to a Caringbridge site that told more of Kate's story and I began to pray for this little one and for the rest of her family. I asked those who follow me on Twitter or who are Facebook friends to join me in asking God to have mercy on this child. Many others did too. I now know that thousands and thousands of people are daily lifting up this whole family in prayer. A friend of mine who is the Director of an International Relief Agency said to me, "I think this is the greatest use I have witnessed of a social media site." Within moments now we can alert people all around the world to a particular crisis or injustice and raise our voices together. I still love to know where my friends are and what they are up to, but I am very grateful to be part of a connected community that believes in the power of prayer and support. 

There are many people who count it a true joy to share the things that make you smile and the things that weigh you down. You are not alone. 

"Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself." Galatians 6:2-3 (NLT)

I have always been a stargazer. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to lie on a blanket on the grass and wait for the stars and the moon to appear. From a child-like perspective the sun seemed to beat down on me but the moon smiled on me and so I smiled back. Some nights the moon seemed so very close even though I knew from science class that it was a quarter of a million miles away. I was fascinated by the lives of astronauts and had determined that if school children were ever to be included in space travel I would be the first on board. I never imagined for a moment that not only would we be able to circle the moon but that I would get to watch as a U.S. astronaut stepped out of the lunar module and put his foot on the surface of the moon.

On the morning of July 1969, forty years ago today astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins took their places aboard Apollo 11 at the Kennedy Space Center and at 9:32AM they had lift off. My sister Frances and I watched it on our television in Ayr Scotland. Fascinated as I was by the launch, it was the landing and subsequent walk on the moon I wanted to see. The trouble was that the moonwalk was to take place at almost 11PM Eastern U.S. time, which was 4AM Scottish time. My mom said that as we had school the next day we couldn't possibly watch it, but it would be re-aired on television many times over. I was a very compliant child who didn't give my mom much trouble at all, but this was simply unacceptable to me. "Mom, this moment will never come again in all human history and you want me to sleep through it!!!" So we made a deal. If I would go to bed very early that night she would wake me up for a 'walking-on-the-moon' picnic. I will never forget the wonder and exhilaration I felt as I listened to those now infamous words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

When I went back to bed that night I left my bedroom curtain open and stared at the moon out of my window. I prayed for the men, that God would keep them safe, and return them to their families. "They are so far away Father. That's how you seem sometimes, too - so far away." As I closed my eyes that night I know that God was watching them as he was watching me as he was watching you. That is the great mystery of God; though at times he seems so far away he is as close as your next breath, only a prayer away.

"Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your Keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, he will bear you in his arms."
Saint Frances of Sales

Dear Friends,

I have been thinking a lot about hope recently. Hope for a believer is a very different experience than for someone who does not acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and hope is only as strong as the person or object it is directed towards. It has no value of its own. I can say that "I hope this diet is more effective than the last fifty-three I tried" but as the problem is me and not the diet, it's not looking good! When we place our hope in God our Father, however, we are placing our hope in someone who has never and will never fail us.

This doesn't mean, as you well know, that life will always be easy. In his letter to the Church in Rome, Paul talked about the role of the hard stuff of life in fine-tuning our hope.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV)

So what do we hold onto when life is difficult and no help seems to be at hand? What do we do when we pray very specifically for something and see no answer? In these moments we hold on to what we cannot see which, by faith, we know is more real than what we can see with our human eyes.

We hold onto the truth that God loves us and is watching over us.
We hold onto the promise that God will make everything work together for good to those who are the called, according to his purposes.
We come to our Father daily for the grace that He has made available for that day.
We lift our eyes and our hearts and by faith we worship. We remember that no matter how difficult this journey might get at times, because of Jesus-THIS ENDS WELL FOR US!

I pray that God will fill your heart with hope today.

You are loved,
Sheila

Check back on Monday's and Thursday's for new posts from Sheila.

A friend asked me a couple of years ago if I blogged and I looked at her with the blank stare of the uninitiated. There are words that have today become the cornerstones of our pop culture that had no meaning at all five or ten years ago. Most of them have to do with methods of connecting or communicating and that fact in itself speaks volumes. The world that we live in is a vastly different place than the world our parents grew up in.

I have just returned from a trip to Scotland to celebrate my Mom's eightieth birthday. She lives in the same small town where she was born. She is a member of the same small church where her mother, her grandmother and her great grandmother were members. She is connected in many deep and meaningful ways to her community and culture. She can tell me the name of almost every child she went to school with and what career and family choices they made. The tapestry of her life is rich and vibrant.

Many of my generation tell a different story. We went away to college and then relocated across the country or world depending on career or calling. We have a lot of 'stuff' that previous generations would not have known to dream of but beneath it all we still long for connection, to know that we are not alone in this journey.

If I had to define my life's passion in one sentence it would be this-To live every moment in the love of God and be a channel of his love to others.

So that's what my blog will be about-moments of seeing God in unexpected places, moments of unexpected grace amidst the questions and challenges of life. I don't know where you are in your journey as you read this but if you will allow me to lay the first piece of the jigsaw puzzle of faith on the table it would be this simple truth, God loves you, right now, as you are, he loves you...to be continued!

Sheila