Who is your living hope?
It may be a strange question, but I think we should ask ourselves. After all, aren’t most people hoping for something or someone?
Have you seen him?
I remember the days of hoping for someone. I was looking for that forever someone to love. Do you know what I am talking about? You know, that dream life many women have of meeting prince charming, falling madly in love, saying I do, wearing the beautiful dress, and riding off into the sunset happily ever after forever and ever. Guys have it, too – the girl of their dreams.
Wait! Was that your dream too? I know it was mine. I dreamed of the most romantic honeymoon, settling down with six kids, growing old together, making each other’s coffee, chasing the grands around, and watching old shows together.
Fairy tale failure
Don’t get me wrong – the love of my life came and went. My fairytale life quickly ended when he found another princess with more money to share a castle with, one who was also tied down and had four kids.
I am not bitter anymore. I have forgiven him. After all, it’s been 25 years. Sure, I could hold a grudge, carrying it around like a backpack through life, pulling memories from it often to make sure all my bitter memories were still intact. But what’s the point? He forgot about me long ago like an etch-a-sketch forgets the picture it drew.
It happened. I hurt. I grieved, and I grew. But I also found that placing my hope in another flawed human being wasn’t the answer.
It was after the death of my dream of riding into the sunset with him forever that I found a new forever love to roam with and admire, a new love that would sweep my broken heart off the cold, hard floor. This new love would never hurt me, abandon me, cheat, lie, or deceive – I should probably stop here with all the verbs and adjectives. I am sure you get the point.
But in case you haven’t yet, I found the one whom my soul longs. Do you want to know his name?
It’s no secret – I have been telling everyone for years. After all, he told me I needed to tell everyone and that he would always be with me wherever I go, even to the very end of the age.
I will not make this like all those videos we see on social media where it takes an hour to find out what veggies you need to avoid. We have all seen those, and they are frustrating to watch. I start scanning the comments for the answers instead of watching the super long video only to be directed to a link after I wasted a half-hour I will never get back.
So, what’s his name?
My love? The Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
It was after a painful breakup years after my divorce that I finally figured out I had been looking in all the wrong places for love. Someone else did the same thing and wrote about their experience and made tons of money.
Anyway, I finally discovered just how much Jesus loves me. Now some would say, “Oh, you found religion.”
Since childhood, I have believed in Jesus, but I never lived out my faith. I learned faith is a personal commitment.
Jesus is not a religion. Jesus is the Savior of the world. God sent his only Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. We messed up, so God sent a redeemer.
The Lord pursues all of us, and whether we want to or not, at some point in time, we will reckon with our decision to follow Jesus fully with all our heart, soul, and mind.
To date, it’s been 17 years, and the Lord has not hurt me yet. He has done the opposite. He has loved me with an everlasting love that goes beyond my comprehension of what true love looks like.
So, I love the one who gave his life for me, my family, friends, and the world. I love the one who chose to die on the cross for my sin and yours, Jesus Christ. He is my living hope.
People ask me what I am passionate about – that’s easy because my passion is tied to my love, to the one who loves me unconditionally. The Lord doesn’t care if I wear t-shirts and jeans every day. He wants me to love him and tell others – point people back to him. So, that’s what I try to do every day. Some days are better than others.
What a relief to know loving the Lord doesn’t involve constantly worrying about where my husband is and who he may or may not be visiting. I find comfort in knowing that my troubles are not bigger than Jesus’ grace and mercy, nor will they ever be bigger than his power. Despite all my faults, I am forgiven and loved.
So when folks ask me who my living hope is, I answer Jesus Christ.
I hope you, too, can answer that Jesus Christ is your living hope one day. He truly is the best one we can place our hope in and the one who loves you more than anyone has ever loved you before.
In His Service,
The Teaching Lady
Bible – Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
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