My life has been to say the least, unusual. I grew up mostly in northern California but I have also lived in Saltville, Virginia; Klamath Falls, Oregon; Pasco, Washington; Johnson City, Tennessee, and Honolulu, Hawaii. My dad was a minister up until I was 8 years old. He was also a drug addict and an alcoholic. Through the first 15 years of my life, the only constant in my life was CHANGE. We moved a lot.  I changed schools, towns and states. I had to make new friends. But through all of that, the Lord was with me. He protected me. He sheltered me. I have often said, “I can’t wait to get to heaven to find out how many times an angel was standing in front of me with a sword”!

Romans 5:2-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”.

I know that when we are in the shadow of defeat, in the grip of the trial, and in the valley, we don’t jump up and shout, “Woo Hoo! I am going to rejoice because this is so bad and I hurt so much”! However, when we are down so far it takes everything we have in us to look up, our Savior Christ Jesus is there with us. And that friends, is where we REJOICE! I found this diagram that I had written in a journal about a year ago. It helped me visualize this passage.

The hope that I have in Christ carries me through the suffering. Perseverance is a steadfastness in doing something despite the difficulty or how long it takes. Perseverance produces character. Character produces hope. Hope does not disappoint. Our hope is rooted in the grace we received at the cross. It is the free and undeserved favor of God given to us when we accept Christ into our hearts. And no matter what the world throws at us, this can never be taken away. So, through all the changes that took place in my life, God’s hand was moving. We won’t be able to see the whole picture until we reach heaven, but we can rejoice in the midst of the storm, knowing that he is in control and nothing can snatch us from his hand.

At the end of my sophomore year in high school, my mom’s boyfriend Darrell, was transferred to Honolulu, Hawaii. He took us with him. A year later, I was on a beach over Memorial weekend and met the man of my dreams. I was 17 years old and a junior in high school. He was 20 years old, in the Navy and he drove a Camero! We started dating and two years later, we were married. I never would have imagined in the midst of all that I went through, that God would lead me to Hawaii and place the perfect man, literally in my path! We have been married now for 32 years.

Hope is defined as “a feeling of trust”. We can trust Christ. We can rejoice that he is in control when we are suffering. We can be steadfast in our faith, not allowing Satan to steal our peace. Peace does not mean the lack of trials. It’s more a knowledge that we are in harmony with God and despite the trial we are enduring, we know we will come out on the other side. We know that God is with us. So my friends, as you face whatever challenger awaits you today, take hope! And “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)