“Come on boys, it’s time to go” I said this morning, running through a mental checklist and trying to rush out the door.
“AJ, grab your PopTart. Ethan, do you have Blankie?”
“He right here.”
“Do you have a stuffie for KK’s?”
“Yeah ma’am, I got dis one!” He shows me a Beanie Baby that I had placed on the fireplace mantle last year after COVID hit. “I climbeded up to get her!”
“Oh Bitty, Mommy doesn’t want you to take Hope!”
“Momma, I be very careful wi her today at KK’s and not wet the babies or the big kids touch her.” He says. I look at my sweet little boy and with a sigh I agreed.
“Ok Bitty. But promise Mommy that you’ll hold on to Hope. She’s very special.”
You see, Hope is a teddy bear Beanie, on her knees, with hands folded and eyes closed. After COVID caused the world to come to a screeching halt last year, I dug her out and placed her on the fireplace mantle as a reminder to continue to pray and have hope.
Y’all, God wants us to have hope. He says it in the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 says God has plans to give us hope and a future. Hebrews 6:19 says hope is an anchor for our soul. Romans 15:13 says our God is a God of hope.
I know that having hope can sometimes seem out of reach. I get it. My sweet husband likes to say “If anybody feel ya, I feel ya!” Sometimes things can seem hopeless. We live in a fallen world. But one thing we can count on is that our God is not surprised by any of these things we go through. He knows everything that we have gone through, and everything we will go through. Our God is a God of hope. And we can rest in this hope knowing everything is going to work out. Even if it seems hopeless at the time.
The words I said to my four-year-old are words we could ALL use, no matter our circumstances or the current situation. All we need to do is hold on to Hope, because she is very special.
