I am convinced that if you have hope you will enjoy life more.  Your are always expecting the next great thing that is coming “just around the corner.”  When I was pregnant for the first time, my husband and I totally expected to have a little boy since boys were all that were in his family, and the male determines the gender.  It was the 1970’s and there was no such thing as finding out the gender of your baby beforehand.  So, regardless, we picked out a baby name for a girl because that was our desire:  We would name her Hope (because we hoped she would be a girl) and Ellen, for my husband’s mother.  Well, guess what?  We had our girl first, named her Hope and had two boys afterwards.  She has brought nothing but joy to our lives, as have our sons, but Hope was the unexpected gift that keeps on giving.

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If we had had a little boy first, we would have rejoiced regardless, because he was healthy.  But we hoped for a little girl and God fulfilled our desires.  Now, to focus on the Scripture.  Life is too short to always be focused on what you don’t have and be worried about losing out on things that will never happen.  You know, I could wish that I had never had my stroke so that I wouldn’ t have dietary and activity restrictions on me life.  But you know what?  The stroke was a blessing in disguise because it showed me a whole new way of life, a healthy lifestyle that I had no idea about its existence.  And I also learned how to exercise in a healthy way, from going to physical therapy and continuing with the exercise afterwards.  It has been over three years and I am still tracking my sodium and exercising five times a week.  Before that, I never paid attention to the food labels and just ate whatever I wanted.  And I never exercised.  Growing up asthmatic, I thought exercise was for everyone else.  But God got me on my back in ICU and taught me a better way.  Reading the labels on food now is second nature, as is exercise.  Now, would I rather eat whatever I want?  Would I rather skip exercise and just chill?  Sure!  But that is not good for me, and I am blessed to say that I have lived long enough to see three more healthy grandchildren added to the family…all girls!  

I feel like I’m rambling today, but I really do have a point. Two of them, actually.  One, don’t spend your life wishing that everything were different.  Enjoy the blessings that God has already given you.  Look around you and you will find plenty to be thankful for.  And two, you can choose to abound in hope because God will fill you with it.  His Holy Spirit will fill you with an abundance of hope…so that no matter what you face, you know that God will take care of the details and you only have to do your part. I carried Hope for nine months, not knowing what would happen in the labor and delivery room, but trusting God regardless.   Just keep on keeping on, in the belief that God has your best interests at heart.  That should give you hope!  Blessings and prayers until next time.