Journey Back to Joy... Day 1 Head towards Hope

Hope...what is it?  A word so easily handed out, but hard to hold onto….Why?  Because in our fast food world of internet and instant replay, e-mail and e-bay, gone tomorrow, but here today, hope is not something that promises instant gratification.  It is more the “something worth having is something worth waiting for” kind of thing.  It was what kept the wandering Israelites from heading back to Egypt….It was what inspired Jochabed to send her babe down the Nile.  It enabled Joseph the strength to endure and eventually save a people from starvation, it rebuilt temples, and tore down walls.  It finished voyages and started new worlds, it has brought victories to battles and ended wars.  It has preserved what matters most in a throw away world and keeps the faint hearted from giving up.  So what is hope?  What good is it when the time on the clock is ticking and no answer is in sight?  What good is it when all seems to already be lost?  To me it is the simple belief that there is a Higher plan and purpose...that something good can come from something bad, and that something better is just around that bend in the road.  If hope has a name, and I believe it does, I would call it Jesus Christ.  The first step on my journey back to joy is to head in the right direction...and that is towards hope.  When Peter jumped out of the boat, his eyes were first focused on Christ.  When he lost sight of the Savior’s face, he began to sink.  I have done the same.  So many times I am guilty of losing sight of the Savior’s higher calling in my life and I look around as an adult who sees all the harsh realities of life, but forgets the wonder and faith of the child who still sees the face of His creator in the beauty of a flower.  WE see the weeds, but the child sees a garden.  We want to destroy and re-create our own order and understanding of the mess, but the child grabs a hold of the flower and blows a magical wish and waits to watch where the seeds might land.  Act on the faith of the child and take the weeds God has allowed and see them as flowers.  Pick them for His purposes, let the wind of His spirit blow their seeds where He may and wait for the garden to bloom.  You never know when and where there will be flowers. Perhaps its right where you are...even in the darkness of a prison cell or the midst of your pain.  Life’s joy journey is about dancing in the rain….Will you have this dance?