With Hope

Hope is one of my favorite words. It is the hope I have in Jesus that gets me through the most difficult of times. I feel such sadness for people who suffer tragedies without Jesus in their life. How do they get through the death of a loved one?

After my husband died, people around me were surprised that I seemed to be coping so well. They didn't seem to understand how I could have anything to smile about. Well, I was sad. I was sad all the time. I cried myself to sleep every night for six months. But, I still had hope. I knew exactly where my husband was and I knew that this wasn't the end. I will see him again!

This week we were all saddened to hear of the sudden and tragic death of five-year-old Maria Chapman. Shortly after hearing the announcement on our local Christian radio station, they played a beautiful song that was written by Steven Curtis Chapman several years ago. The song is called, "With Hope." If you are experiencing grief or loss, I pray that these words will bring you 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