Complicated Hope

The night before Thanksgiving finds me reflective and basking in many memories of precious holidays with family and friends.

We have much to be thankful for in our lives – family, friends, home, our church. And we have many blessing we look forward to in the next year – Ashley going to school, Chris graduating, Chris and Ruth getting married, working with more amazing young women, seeing how God uses our family in Missions.

All of these blessings, both in the past and those yet to come, are possible because of Jesus Christ and the foundation of faith in God laid by the family members who have gone before us.

David and I are blessed to have a heritage of Christianity that is the bedrock for our personal faith and for our marriage. We are honored to leave that heritage to our children too. Yet, we are also keenly aware that many do not have that heritage.

Our greatest blessing in the past years has been opening our home to share with other people. Some who did not have a Christian Family. Some who missed their family and needed a place of refuge. Some have needed an example of Christianity. And some just needed a hot meal and a place to do laundry.

I am thankful tonight for parents and grandparents and so many more before us who taught us a simple principle – use what you have to serve God.

What is in your hand that you could use to show God’s love? Don’t discount even the smallest thing – give it to God and be amazed at what He can do!