Horizons of Hope

Yesterday was good.  It was a day that painted a picture of hope.  A soft warm glow on the horizon.  The eager anticipation for the sun to burst forth and illuminate all of God's creation with His glory.

I don't know about you, but this world can get the best of me at times.  We've tasted the bitterness, suffering and death it offers.  Despair and hopelessness flirt with our hearts.  Sometimes caving in to the  enormous burdens put on us.  We lose peace, then, we lose joy.

A particular burden of a lost loved one in my life has been especially heavy the past few years.  With time,  hearts seem harder, choices seem even more devastating.

Yet, God has given me something to grasp.  Hope.  It is a word that has become my lifeline back to truth.  It reminds me to believe in an empty grave.  It reminds me God is good.  It reminds me there is no darkness in Him.  It reminds me of His sovereignty.  It reminds me of His power to save.  It reminds me that my Lord is coming back!

So, what was so hopeful about yesterday, you might be thinking.  I had the opportunity to meet with my foster daughters's mom outside a Starbucks for a brief time.  Her life is a tragic one and full of choices that led her to where she is right now.  I shared with her my Hope found in Christ.  I held her hand and prayed that she might find her way to that same Hope.  We plan to chat again.

There was that soft warm glow on the horizon.  It reminded me God is not dead.  It reminded me God's love covers a multitude of sins.  It reminded me that He is Light.  It reminded me that God commands the winds and waves.  It reminded me that God removed scales from Paul's eyes.  It reminded me to eagerly anticipate the SON to burst forth and illuminate all of creation with all His glory!

"But as for me, I will hope continually, 
And will praise You yet more and more." - Psalm 71:14

"and hope does not disappoint, 

because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts

 through the Holy Spirit who was given to us". - Romans 5:5

"But if we hope for what we do not see, 

with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." - Romans 8:25

God's sovereignty in the Court room

One thing many people may not realize about foster care, is how much time foster parents spend in court rooms.  We have had 3 court appointments in the last 3 months and have 4 more in the next 6 weeks.  This may be more than what the typical foster family experiences but every foster family does spend significant time in court.  We didn't expect our fostering to include learning the "ins and outs" of the U.S. legal system.... juvenile, criminal, immigration, etc.

Such a dark place... the court system that is.  The environment is so heavy, my heart weeps over the sin, the utter depravity of mankind.  

I sat in one of those court rooms last week.  It's a strange feeling to see half a dozen people clamoring together "fighting" for the rights and futures of the children in your care.  There was a small, selfish, prideful part of me that wanted to jump up from my lonely seat in the back of the courtroom and wave my arms around and say, "Hello, I'm the one taking care of them 24 hrs. a day, shouldn't my opinion matter?" 

Instead, the moment seemed surreal.  Legal jargon thrown around and over my head.  I wondered.  Wondered at it all. Our broken world, the insanely smart attorneys, birth parents who have lost their way and saddest of all, the children.  The thousands and thousands of children, broken families.... what is right?  Are the decisions being made for them, right?  I sat there and felt at a loss.  How does anyone make these life altering decisions?  

As quickly as the confusion came, His peace and grace filled my soul.  There was irony in staring at the judge and  attorneys in the room.  The Holy Spirit reminded my heart that God alone is JUDGE.  He rules justly, rightly and sovereignly.  He is so worthy to be trusted.  I don't have to figure it all out because He already has.

 And in the middle of that dark place, His Light flooded the room. 

"For the kingdom is the LORD's and He rules over the nations."  Psalm 22:28

"Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered;  Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;  And He will give strength to His king,  And will exalt the horn of His anointed." 1 Samuel 2:10