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As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
Psalm 71:14 (NIV)

What a beautiful wedding!

I had the honor of attending a wedding this weekend; the groom was the son of one of my best friends. It was beautiful, mostly traditional with a couple of personalized twists that made their ceremony so fun and unique. The wedding and reception took place at a clubhouse that was equipped with golf carts that looked like limousines. The reception was elegant and the food was incredible. Since the groom was in the military, he wore his dress blues and four of his fellow Marines were there to present swords for the newlyweds’ entrance.

The newly married couple looked so happy, and I could see the hope for the the future in their eyes and smiles. I remembered my wedding day, having the same emotions and same sore face muscles from all the smiling I did that beautiful June day. I saw my reflection from twenty years ago in their young and hopeful faces. The feeling of wanting my wedding day back came over me and brought me to tears.

Memories of my own wedding day…

The looks we gave each other during our day and knowing that I had found my man, best friend, lover, and future dad of my children filled my heart. How could I have known eighteen years later, two weeks after our anniversary Kirk would be called home to be with his Father. Now, June is not only the month of my wedding anniversary, it is the month that Kirk was suddenly taken from us. As you can see, June is a rough month for me. As I sat there and felt the void, the DJ played “The Dance” by Garth Brooks. If you have ever heard that song, you know it’s hard to contain yourself.

After I picked myself back up, hope started to creep into my heart. I looked back at this couple and realized they were the picture of hope. I could feel my spirit lift and could feel Jesus telling me to keep my hope alive.

There is so much hope for my future.

For example, there is hope that each day I will wake up, take the best care of my beautiful daughter that Kirk and I were blessed to have together. I have hope for her future and what lies ahead for her. I have hope that each day my load will lighten, because I will continue to put my hope in Jesus and praise Him for that hope. I have hope for my future, because I surrendered my future to Jesus awhile ago.

I had been trying to control a couple of areas of my life and it wasn’t going well for me, so I surrendered my life to His will. I will say that since I laid that burden at His feet, I have felt so much better. And I have hope for my future home in heaven with Jesus, Kirk, and my other family members that have gone before me. I praise Jesus because I know He hears my praises, and in turn my soul fills with hope.

Sisters, take heart and keep going!

We can have hope no matter what our past is, and no matter what lies before us. For the believer in Christ, just knowing that our final destination includes Jesus Christ should fill us up to the point of our souls flowing over.

We all have moments of pain, despair, waves of grief that wash and overwhelm us. Please keep hope in your heart, soul, and mind and I promise you will feel your spirit lift you. I pray this for all of you every day and night.

Lord, help us keep hope in our souls, hearts and minds. Help us know that Jesus is the source of true hope. Please give us grace to surrender our lives to You and find hope to keep going each day. There are days, Lord, that we don’t want to get out of bed to face the day, but with hope we can make it and encourage others to do the same. This isn’t an easy path, but with HOPE from YOU, Father, I know that each day is a blessing and I praise You for that. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!