Hope Lives

It’s funny how sometimes it only takes a child to remind you of the greater things in life.

Lately things haven’t been going great; we’ve been reminded time and again how God is in control…and we’re not. We feel like life is in a sort of limbo while we wait for Him to move that mountain.

And then we have a conversation with a child.

I was visiting with some first graders when one of them came up to me. He noticed my ID and asked,

“Is your name really Hope?”

I responded, “Yes, my name really is Hope.”

He thought for a moment, then in all seriousness replied, “That’s a great name. It means that there is always hope. You’ll always have Hope. Hope is good.”

I smiled and told him that my family and friends will often remark that there is always hope when I am around.

He smiled, but remained very serious.

And then he said something else. I paused, taken by surprise, and asked,

“What did you say?”

He said, “Hope Lives. Your name means Hope Lives.”

Startled, I asked this bright SIX year old, “Do you speak spanish?”

He replied that he spoke a little bit; that he’d read my ID and saw that my last name was Vivas, which means to Live.

“You have a good name. Hope is good. Hope Lives.”

I let him know I was so glad to have met him and let him know I have a nephew with his name. He liked that.

As I left the room, I couldn’t help but smile. It was a really tough week. An even tougher day. But I reminded myself that Hope lives within me. As I’ve pondered this weekend, I’ve looked for the Hope that lives within me. He’s there, sometimes we just forget to look.

Until a child is sent to remind us.

Jeremiah 17:7
“ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.

³More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

And my favorite…

¹² rejoice in hope; be patient in tribulation; continue stedfastly in prayer;