This weekend our family gathered to honor my mom’s 10th anniversary in Heaven. It was a special time for our family, and our whole house was full of love and laughter, all the way down to the smallest great grandchild. Mom and Dad left a legacy of love behind in our family, and I am very grateful for that.

Watching Mom battle with cancer for 3 years, I learned how clinging to hope can get you through anything. At times she would get down. I would call her and she would tell me she had not been out of the house. This was so not like her because she loved working in the yard more than eating.

We would go for her next oncologist’s visit, and he would give her just the slightest bit of encouragement, some hope she could cling to. The next day she would be back outside working in her flowers and singing again. She would find her hope.

When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.” And that is just what Mom would do, try one more time. She did that for 3 long years. She held on to hope.

Mom had great faith in God, and He was her hope. She had hope that no matter what happened, He would work out His purpose in her life, and that she would live forever with Him in Heaven. He did and now she does.

God’s Word gives us the key for surviving the trials in our lives. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)  Learning this helped me survive my own cancer battles after she died.

I have heard that, although not everyone can swim, we can all float. But the only way we can float is if we believe we can float. If we do not believe we can float, we will sink. Until we believe it, we will never receive it.

Patience is translated from the Greek word hupomone. Hupomone is endurance, perseverance and bearing up under difficult circumstances inspired by an expected benefit. Hope is a constant expectation that God is working even when we do not sense him. Faith is an action while hope is an assurance. Hope is the breath that causes us to float.

The next time you start to sink, just remember—Take a deep breath, and … Hope.

Dear Lord: Help us to dare to hope big in You because You are a Big, Big God. If our prayers are not intimidating to us, then they are insulting to you. Thank You for grace. Please help us move beyond the hurdles that trip us up and give us the strength and wisdom to look up and see the hope we run toward in Christ. Be with those reading this who have might have lost their hope. Please help them find it in Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. (Edward Mote, 1837)

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf …  Hebrews 6:19-20

Please share your thoughts, comments and experiences with our group. Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May the hope of Jesus Christ sustain you through all of life’s challenges.