Fall Harvest and Hope

I can feel it… a small change in the air!  Just when I think I have had enough of the hot summer weather, the morning air rises with me, and I notice it.  The subtle change tells me that Fall will be coming soon enough, and the lazy, easy days of summer will be gone. 

Some of us have had a wonderful summer… others have had quite a difficult one. 

Here in Colorado we dealt with devastating forest fires and a loss of life in a theater shooting.  Our state seemed to be in the national news all summer long.  We are hurting here, and there are many who began their summer not knowing they would lose their home or a loved one.  I have seen the burnt out sides of a mountain and memorials with flowers, candles, and stuffed animals.  It all hurts my heart, and I have prayed daily for our state and its people. Others elsewhere are also dealing with devastating floods.  Our nation right now seems so fragile… we are in need of change.

But with the change of seasons, comes the realization that nothing stays the same whether it be our emotions or our surroundings.  Even our bodies are changing daily… this is just a part of HIS creation.  And if we realize that change is an everyday part of our lives, then we will never lose HOPE.  No matter how bleak our circumstances, HOPE is just a change away… just a heartbeat away… just a moment away for any of us! 

If we are steadfast and patient in our daily sufferings or problems, and we all have them, then we will see this hope clearly when we look through the lens of GOD, or when we study HIS word.  If we are in tune with our GOD, then we realize that HE put this hope within us.  It is part of our makeup.  Our GOD is the GOD of HOPE.  When all else fails, and we are at the end of ourselves… HE is our GOD of HOPE…our only answer!

Sometimes it is hard to get up and put one foot in front of another… when we wake, we have 24 hours to live in GOD’S  hope! We can “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction.” Romans 12:12.  And it is CHRIST that gives us this hope for a future, and for our heavenly home.  This hope should be an anchor for our souls each and every day.

I don’t know about you, but Fall is my favorite time of year… the start of school, the color change, the holidays around the corner… all give me a sense of hope!  My Shepherd in Christ, went before me, died on the cross for me, to give me this hope I feel and understand today.

Whatever you are experiencing this time in your life, I do hope that you will find this coming Fall as a time to harvest a new hope!  Christ’s HOPE is like none other… it is eternal… it is everlasting… it is for you, and it is for me!

HEBREWS 6:19 “This HOPE we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…”