Searching for Hope

“When you say a situation is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.”

                — Charles L. Allen

As an educator, I have had the blessing to be touched by the lives of hundreds of children. Each of them is unique in their own way and I absolutely thrive on watching them explore the world with innocence and wonder. But being around that many children has also left its mark on my heart in painful ways as well. I can give you the name of every student’s funeral I have attended, every hospital room I have visited, and every family member I have prayed with through the years.

One of the most challenging things I have ever had to do is handle the questions that surround many of these difficult situations. When you have parents, family, friends, and other young people standing around you, questioning and searching for answers, it can be hard to keep the hopelessness from seeping into your own thoughts. But God does not desire His children to be without hope. He constantly reminds us that He is the Creator, the one who can do all things. There is not a situation we are in that should seem completely hopeless because He is there to restore that hope.

There is no doubt that we will face difficult times. Perhaps we are grieving a loss, or maybe we simply do not have friends or family nearby to share our daily lives with. Whatever the reason, we simply have to remember never to lose the hope God has gifted us with.