Hope Springs A Turtle

Hope. It's a four letter word. I was taught that four letter words are naughty. Okay, so not all four letter words are naughty - kind, love, care, life, and you would think hope should be one of the acceptable words. But hope is a four letter word that for me has been a naughty word, because hope has brought pain, another four letter word. I have hoped for certain jobs, for relationships, for plans to work out, for any innumerable different things. And mostly have been disappointed. It has taught me to be guarded, reluctant to hope, cautious, and frankly rather cynical. Lessons that most people would say are the hard knocks of life, but are really lessons from the father of lies. Yet God does not allow me to stay there. I was talking with a friend about how, despite being of a bit older age, and the string of broken hearts we've suffered, we still hope that one day we may meet our husbands. We continue to hope for love, for children, and family in the face of growing odds against us. Hope is an amazing phenomenon. Our hope is to be in the Lord. And if rightly placed it will not be disappointed. Our Lord does not disappoint. God instills hope in each of us, it is His call to rely on Him, to draw us forward, and deeper into relationship with Him. Hope helps us see the possibilities that God sees as realities. Because God is hope and our hope is in Him who reigns on high - our hope is eternal. "Hope springs eternal" to rattle off a cliche. For one young girl, she thought it meant it was a turtle named Hope. Maybe I should hope for a turtle.