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THURSDAY THOUGHT 7/31/08

The Hope Factor
 
As a young, bold dragonslayer, arrogant in faith, I used to look down on those who prayed in fear.  (That was also when I thought life was a big bowl of cherries, sans the pits.)  Christians had to be joyful, I believed, or they were lacking in faith. 
 
Well, as always (and still), I had much to learn.  Today, often standing hip deep in a swamp filled  with injustices and setbacks and illnesses and other unpleasant surprises, I have come to realize that being a Christian is also about hope, about believing — and sometimes desperately hoping — when it looks as if God has abandoned us or, worse, that the whole follow-Jesus party has been nothing but a fraud.
 
My point:  We’re often clay-footed; we’re not always one hundred percent sure; and more often than not, we don’t understand what God has slated for us or why.  That is when we need to offer up a quivering-lipped smile of hope — yes, amid all the fears and doubts — and just hang on tight to the hope of God’s promise.  God bless. — jri
 
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in
this way, you will fulfill the law of God.”
        –    St. Paul
               (Galatians 6:2)