Hope Linked In

Last week we were feeling so hopeful.  Every day of the week we had been given a small encouragement.  Oddly enough, it had always been something of financial consequence, either an unexpected payment or gift, or something sold that had been for sale for a long time.  This had led to the hopeful feeling that "Wow!  We could really do this!"  By Friday, I was getting really excited!  I wondered if we were going to hear about the contract we'd been waiting on or something like that out of the blue.

But then, 5 pm came and went, and there was no news.  Office hours were over.  I knew we wouldn't be hearing anything anymore.  Yet we hadn't checked the mail yet.  When I saw the envelopes, to me, it just looked like statements that were of no consequence.  It turns out, one of them gave an update on a small investment that had grown quite significantly over the years....another huge blessing!  We had not received an update on that particular investment in such a long time that we had completely forgotten about it.  I didn't even know about it because it had been started before I even knew RM. That's when it occurred to me - God doesn't keep office hours.  He doesn't stop working at 5 pm.  He doesn't take holidays.  He works 24/7, overtime, all day, everyday.  I should have known to not look at the clock and to depend on man's hours.

At some point during the day, RM came into the house and said, "You'll never guess who joined me on LinkedIn.....".  "Who?"  "Hope."  At first, I didn't get it.  I wondered who "Hope" was.  He actually didn't know either.  It was just an automatic person who was added, but then we saw the irony.  Of all the people, with all the names, "Hope" linked in.  We shook our heads as we thought about how Hope, HOPE, HOPE! had linked in.  Hope was on our side.  Hope was on our team.  Hope had joined us.  And not the person, Hope (whoever she is and wherever she is), but Hope, the character trait that comes only from God.  Hope had linked in with us.  Someone might say, "Coincidence", and yes, perhaps it was an unusual sequence of events, but we loved it because we had been feeling so hopeful.  God was doing some really neat things.  He was showing up everywhere this past week and that was just the icing on the cake.  A small thing, yet again, but a little sign from God to stay hopeful.

I have to share a neat answer to prayer for my daughter.  A couple of years ago she went to a Worldview Camp that she just loved.  She came back on fire, excited about her faith, new friendships, and couldn't wait to go back.  But then it was cancelled last year.  She was so disappointed.  Then, this year she was told it was back on, but the cost was too much.  We couldn't justify it, neither could she.  She knew it, we knew it.  I kept telling her, "If God wants you there, He'll get you there."  I had said that to her two years ago, too and she ended up getting a scholarship that paid for half of her fee. She ended up putting her name on the waiting list to go this year.  It seemed impossible as it was full. We were glad that it filled up as that seemed to confirm that she wasn't meant to go!  Then we got an email from the organizers asking for mentors.  If she's accepted she will not only be able to go, but they'll pay her to be there!!!  C'mon, talk about a miracle.  She's barely old enough, but she applied anyway as a mentor and now she's working out the final details.  It looks like it's going to happen and I just marvel at how God is answering her prayers.  Why am I surprised???

This week ahead may be just a "regular" week.  Perhaps God will be quiet this week.  Maybe last week was just that, "last week", and this week will be a week full of concerns, no gifts of money out of the blue.  But God filled my Hope Tank this past week.  He filled my daughter's Hope Tank.  We shouldn't need encouragement every single day of the week as that isn't faith, however, God knows our humanity.  He knows that sometimes we need to see Him, as I've written before, in a tangible way.  I'm convinced these little and big signs of encouragement are completely unnecessary and yet God gives them to us just because He can.  He is kind, merciful, gracious and receiving these blessings is how I know because He so specifically cares for me, for my daughter, in a personal way. The Israelites were undeserving and yet He blessed them all the time.  He performed miracles for them all the time. We don't deserve any of the gifts we've received this week either, yet He was so good to us.  We are supposed to remember what He's done which is why I write about it, so I won't forget His faithfulness.  There will be times ahead, maybe even as soon as this week, where I'll wonder where God is, if He even cares about me, and I'll be able to look back and remember what He's done, how faithful He's been.  God used someone named Hope, to remind us, that He is there, to stay full of Hope, even if there aren't always those daily reminders.  That's my prayer this week, to never lose Hope.