Hope refreshes everyone!

After the Haitian earthquake, the hospital ship HOPE sailed into Port-au-Prince harbor. With its huge red cross, and the word HOPE splashed across its bow, everyone in the harbor cheered for they knew help was near. HOPE had arrived!

Hope is an important Easter virtue. When God decided to invite us to be His friends again, He also decided never to abandon us. He even placed a rainbow in the sky to remind us, and him, that our friendship is everlasting. And to this day when we see a rainbow in the sky after a storm, it is like seeing God standing tall and saying, “I see you and I know you are there.” It is saying God has our back and is our best friend forever!

In our upcoming Easter Celebration, God gives hope to all of his creation.  He is saying he is still our God and we are his people. And he looks forward to our resurrection when we become a living part of his eternal household.

Even though we are like a tiny drop of water in the ocean, God shutters at the thought that the ocean would not contain our unique drops. God wants, waits, and recognizes every drop as special. Now that’s faithfulness. That’s why we are people of Hope. 

When we know God is always with us, sharing our highs and lows, how can we not be hope-filled?  How can we not want to tell others how wonderfully faithful God is?  As the hospital ship brought HOPE to the Haitians, we can be carriers of hope to those we meet along our way. And in this way Hope lasts and is eternal.  Hope by its nature exists to be distributed to everyone. Even Jesus needed hope.

At the Last Supper before his death, Jesus spoke to his apostles about hope and their future.  He gave his disciples a sign, bread and wine.  Then he said “This is my body and blood. Do this in memory of me.” Which means, “I will be there.”  The fact that this is true, gives the world all the hope it needs.