Hope:From the Valley of the Shadow

Lord Jesus--Death came knocking in my family's world this week. The emotions were raw and the hope so clearly seen scrubbed clean of all the ways that hope can be encrusted by lesser things.

There was a sense of sadness and loss that was real, but there was also a sense of victory.  There was a celebration  of a life lived in the middle of a world of brokenness to the glory of the Father.

I hold a faith that is familiar with death, crosses and an empty grave.  So where is the hope in the middle of this hurt?  It is found in your words from the cross to a man who was hanging there with you...a man you met just in time. 

Luke 23:43 (CEV)

Jesus replied, "I promise that today you will be with me in paradise."

It was a promise, nothing less. From a cross made out of wood with sweat and blood mixed into it.  You reached out with one of your last gasps of breath to offer hope to a thief that was next to you.  Thank you Lord Jesus for hope that is found in the most unlikely places. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus for making a cross a place where hope can be offered and found. Thank you for turning funerals into a place of hope...thank you for being a part of a family that your story has been lived out in over three...no make that four generations and counting. 

Lord Jesus--Help me to live a life that counts for your Kingdom in the middle of this brokenness and blessing that surrounds me here in this place you have called me to.  Help me to keep my part of the circle of faith unbroken.