I don't know if it is just the time of year, but my hope was waning this time last year, too.
You would think it would be a time of increased faith and hope and joy.
Maybe, partially, it has been nearly a year since my treatments ended, and nearly a year since I started earnestly longing for the reality of Hope in our lives.
Yet, it seems, we are no closer to seeing or understanding how it is she is to become real to us.
Thankfully, God is very REAL, especially at this time of year.
And he uses the season to infuse me with hope from His word. Here are some verses I have heard read this month that have significance to me in this journey:
"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (This was the verse God gave me for Michael when I was first pregnant with him. It took on great meaning as we learned what it meant to be "saved". Also, God revealved to me last month the significance of the verse's location: 3:17. It is also Michael's birthday 3/17/07.)
And I continue to receive gifts of hope, from Kim, Marie, my Mom and M3. They adorn my home and serve as reminders not to give up. To keep the faith.
