Hope

This post was inspired by the (in)courage website.

Hope is my middle name, literally. It is one reason why I have always liked my name. Far more than simply a name, it is an echoing theme of my life.

When I was twenty-one years old and just married to the man of my dreams, I hoped for a family. Instead of hope chests I had hope closets full of baby clothes for a boy or a girl or both if God would simply fulfill my hopes. But as months turned to years and waiting turned to wondering and doctor’s visits turned to disappointment, my hope grew faint. And when finally that hope seemed about to be fulfilled as we waited for the call to bring home our first child – but instead the phone rang with news that he would not become our own – my hope simply turned to dust and drifted away.

Then three months later, everything changed.

My first daughter’s name means life, or life-giver. As Proverbs 13:12 says: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Two days before Mother’s Day 2001, having learned just 48 hours earlier of her existence, she was placed in our arms through the miracle of adoption. Her arrival breathed life into my hopes once again. And when a sister arrived just 13 months later (also through the miracle of adoption) it was only fitting that Hope become her middle name like mine.

How very thankful I am for Hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope …

Romans 15:13