Embracing Hope!

Tomorrow is my 55th Birthday! Double nickels as my Dad called it when he turned 55 almost 30 years ago. As I approach my special day tomorrow, (which by the way, I share with my husband of 32 years, he turns 59 tomorrow) my thoughts have been turning to having hope along this journey we all share.

I feel that most my life has been lived with a tremendous amount of hope. Sure, I've had down times, but most mornings I wake up and thank the Lord for opening my eyes for one more day. I ask him to direct my paths and give me the strength to face the challenges of the day. I hope to have a good day, to be productive, to be able encourage someone in their life that day.

The last almost 13 years I've been living with MS, hope has been what has carried me through. Hope and prayers and the belief that God will answer my request for healing in a mighty way, in His perfect time. But I  gotta tell  you that it hasn't always been easy for me, and in many ways, that's often been pretty darn tough. It's hard when you get so used to being sick and you say to yourself, "Self, I guess this is my lot in life, I guess this is all God has for me, I guess I better make the best of it." But God didn't want that for me, so he gave me a lot of hope to hang on to. And hang on I did, with everything I had.The hope for healing is what got me through some of my darkest days.

Do you have hope? Hope in the midst of trials? Hope when things look like they absolutely can't get any better? Hope when you lose a loved one, hope when you feel you've been wronged or betrayed, hope when you lose your job, or house, or can't pay your bills, or smash your car up in a accident, or pay for those new pair of sneakers or piano lessons you want to provide for your kids. Hope when you're dealing with a sick child or parent. There are a million different things that can happen to any of us in the course of 24 hours where we need to have hope to hang onto.

So, the question is.....Where do you get your hope? Who gives you that comfort during the difficult trials of life? We all face them, everyday. And if you haven't yet, you will, believe me. Life is a testing ground, and you will have trials, it's just a matter of time. It's easy to get discouraged and in be in despair about events that are going on in our lives, but I don't think that is the way the Lord wants us to live. I think the Lord wants us to have hope! Hope that a situation will turn around, hope that hearts will change and eyes will be opened to the truth, hope that healing will begin, a new job is on the horizon, hope that relationships will be restored. Plain and simple....HOPE.

Last week, I was up at Moffitt Cancer Center, visiting with a fellow MS'er who had just had her "CCSVI liberation procedure" done. She was beaming and smiling, and saying that she felt better than she had in years. As she sat in a hospital wheelchair in the hallway of a place where there is so much sickness and death on a daily basis, she shared that before she before she had heard of this CCSVI procedure, she had almost given up hope of ever feeling any better. Ann, the nurse in charge of the radiology clinic at Moffitt bent down, took her hand and compassionately said  "You can't give up hope, hope is what holds us together. Even a glimmer of hope is what we hang on to around here with both fists." Truer words were never spoken Ann.

Our human eyes can not see our Lord's infinite resources and faithfulness. He knows what's going on in everyone's lives and he can see the future where you cannot. He knows the "Rest of the Story" as Paul Harvey used to say. He wants us to have hope, He wants us to lean on Him when things seem impossible, when you feel there is no hope, because with Him, all things are possible, if we just believe. So hang on tight to the Creator of the Universe, and don't ever give up your hope!

For me, my hope was realized when God answered my prayers and the prayers of many with a man named Dr. Paulo Zamboni. A devoted and loving doctor who's beloved wife contracted MS and was going downhill pretty quickly. He began thinking outside the box. Dr. Zamboni had hope that he could help his wife in ways that other doctors hadn't. So the research began and almost 10 years later, after many hours of good ole trial and error, his hope for a better life for his wife, has also helped thousands of MS patients around the world, including myself. Just think of the consequences of this one man giving up hope.

If he has lost hope he wouldn't have discovered this radical new procedure to help patients with MS. He wouldn't have given new hope to people who have been sick for years and years. He has changed lives and his revolutionary CCSVI angioplasty surgery will continue to help MS patients for years to come.All because he had hope.Thank you Dr. Zamboni for not giving up hope, many thanks from all of us with MS.

You never know what ideas God will put into someones brains, but He does. You never know who will touch someone's life and turn a situation totally around. You don't know, but God does. So, believe in hope, believe in God and leave the rest to Him. He has broad shoulders, the broadest of all and He can handle it!

My verse today is about from Romans 15:13:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

My prayer for today:

Dearest Heavenly Father:

Thank you for hope. Thank you that we can have hope in all situations because we have faith in you and your love and your faithfulness. You tell us to rely on you in everything and that is what I want to do everyday in every way. Help me not to take credit for what happens to me, because everything I have comes from you, you are the provider of life. Thank you for my life of 55 years and all the many blessings I have been given. Help me to continue to live for you each day.

In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen