"Here is Hope"

"Here is Hope."

 
Those are the words Mary the mother of Jesus sung in the musical drama "The Lamb of God" by Rob Gardner. What is absolutely stunning thing about those words, is when she sings them. She sings it as Jesus gives up his life and dies on the cross - the moment when it feels like all hope is gone. It is her stunning declaration of God's power at what appears to be the end of hope.

Mary the Mother of Jesus, certainly was exceptional, but I believe her words echoes the hope of many mothers. They see hope in each child, their capacity, and mission, even though life may be stacked against them and it might seem as if all is lost.

So when my daughter asked me to gather stories from my life, I saw a path to sharing that, like Mary, my source of hope is in Jesus Christ. I wanted to share the hope I feel as I journey through life in all of its glory and messiness. My desire is my children will feel hope, knowing that life is not perfect, but perfectly set up for us to learn and love. I want my children and grandchildren to see hope written throughout the stories I am gathering from my life. Here are a few of the stories I have gathered:

• My sister had a life of health challenges, with constant pain and 30 surgeries in the last 12 years of her shortened life. I want my children to find hope as I share her humility and desire to learn what God wanted her to from the challenges life gave her. 
• My Dad shared bible stories with us often, especially the story of Joseph in Egypt. My hope is they will find hope in the magnificent forgiveness and mercy that Joseph models. 
• While canoeing down the Snake River I tumbled into the churning rapids called Piledriver. I climbed back in, and finished the trip. As I tell the story, I hope the symbolism will give them courage to look to Christ and climb back in their challenges. 

When I shared the story of getting back in the canoe when the rapids threw me overboard, with a struggling child, I sensed hope. We all need to know that there is respite ahead, we are not alone and we can overcome. I believe gathering and sharing experiences will give my family hope in ways unknown to me today as I write. I believe they will see patterns of God at work in all our lives. I hope they will draw strength from my hope.

If we write our stories, we have the opportunity to claim our values, and show who we trust. The hope is my children and grandchildren will say, "I'm not alone," as they read my little book of stories and look to Christ as the co-author of their lives and hope for deliverance saying as Mary did of Christ, "Here is Hope."