Upon reading this blog, direct yourself to as song called “As” by the legendary Stevie Wonder. Now proceed reading---
We must never, ever lose hope. Ever. What we find our Hope in, in reality, is more important than the measure of how much we have. For we know, if we ever give up a hope in Him, we are giving up on the very person that is Hope itself. The world is broken, that is very clear. It’s constantly changing, evolving, into things that seem to look more and more bleak. We have systems in place to connect us, and yet empathy and real connection seems to be lost, maybe more than it ever has been. Life is somewhat difficult for me right now. I think if you’re an avid reader of this blog, you could gather that life is a little funky right now. But every day I wake up, scramble my eggs, reluctantly pet my vicious looking pit-bull, and choose to be an advocate for hope, instead of a victim of chaos and self-pity. Now life is chaotic, but chaos can drive us towards Him, and He can drive us toward a real living Hope. And the living part is important, it’s a Hope that exists, never sleeps, and is constantly being rendered. It’s really living, nothing about it is dormant in nature. It is eternal, breathing, caffeinated and a playful Hope that is offered. What we find from this Hope is something unchanging, something constant, something with no hidden clauses, no shifts in character, no change in nature. Many times I’ve found Hope on the monkey bars, with feet dangling and eyes towards heaven. It is something steady that we can find a balance from when a job hunt drought occurs or the sudden onset of grieving a broken relationship. Hope is where we learn to find our footing, even when we these Category 9.0 quakes occur.
The other night I was driving down the road with rain pouring down hard. I could barely see the road in front of me, my windshield wipers were doing the best job they could, and the road seemed to look greasy and sleek, which meant that conditions were starting to get really dangerous. I proceeded with caution, but couldn’t help but notice that the current situation paralleled the present season of my life. A song began to play on my playlist, and it was the one that is hopefully playing for you now. “As” by Stevie Wonder began to drift into the car. It sent me up, onto a higher ground, elevating me above the car, like the vehicle was driving itself and I began dancing on its sunroof. It was bliss. It was pure joy. I don’t know how to explain it. I started tapping my thumbs rhythmically on the steering wheel and singing so loud and confidently as if Simon Cowell was in the backseat rolling his eyes. A joy overcame me. As the song began to play, I realized that Jesus was singing to me. With a big grin on his face, He was starting to laugh and encouraged me to sing even louder. He began to sing to me, and I began to listen. And then I heard the lyrics. My face began to swell, and my eyes began to water: “You can rest your mind assured, that I’ll be loving you always.” Always, always always, in every tense, in every breath. In every sense of the word, He would be loving me always. I pray that wherever you are in life, that you would know that Hope is alive. There is Hope, Because He is Love. And because He is Love:
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky (Always)
Until the ocean covers every mountain high (Always)
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea (Always)
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream, He will be loving us always.