With Hope

I can't imagine going through this life, and facing tragedy in loss, without the HOPE found in my Lord and Saviour. That thought has been on my mind a lot in the past few weeks. From the illness and death of a church member, to the tragic loss of life the Steven Curtis Chapman family endured, to the very sudden loss close friends have recently faced, I've sat and watched (or read of) how each family is coping. There is grief, but there is HOPE. How can you do it without HOPE?

Ironically, a song penned by Steven Curtis Chapman 10 years ago, is now one that is bringing him and his own family comfort. It's a song that has been running through my mind today as I absorbed the news of this most recent, sudden, so very unexpected loss, in the lives of some friends. May the words below encourage you in the trial you may be facing... or prompt you to ask how you too can have that HOPE:

"With Hope"

This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be. We had so many plans for you, we had so many dreams. And now you've gone away and left us with the memories of your smile. And nothing we can say and nothing we can do, can take away the pain. The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope. We can say goodbye with hope. 'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no. And we can grieve with hope. 'Cause we believe with hope. (There's a place by God's grace) there's a place where we'll see your face again. We'll see your face again.

And never have I known anything so hard to understand. And never have I questioned more the wisdom of God's plan. But through the cloud of tears I see the Father's smile and say well done. And I imagine you where you wanted most to be. Seeing all your dreams come true 'cause now you're home, and now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor 'cause we believe that everything. God promised us is true, so ...

So we can cry with hope. And say goodbye with hope. We wait with hope. And we ache with hope. We hold on with hope. We let go with hope.