3 Years

It's that time again... 
Time to get my thoughts out in writing so that my head doesn't explode. :)

Three years has passed. THREE years! Can it be true? This year has looked alot different than last year. I was down last year during these two weeks in August but this year I would say it's sorrow. I keep up a good front most of the time... I do have three kids, a husband and friends to serve. I don't have time to wallow (and that's good). Even with this deep sense of sadness, God is revealing to me more and more His purpose in my life and His purpose for Hope's life. 

Because I believe the Bible is God's word; because I believe that God provided a way to be saved from our sinful selves; because I believe that the work that Jesus did on the cross by taking our sin on Himself is the only way we receive salvation and ultimately Heaven... I also believe and have been taught that perseverance in Christ is the evidence of our salvation. I believe that by God allowing us to experience everything that came along with Hope's diagnosis, her birth, her short life, her passing: He gave us a gift. I am sure that I am a believer. I am sure of my future in Heaven. Again not because of anything that I have done. Only because of what Christ has done. But by His grace we have persevered. It's not over though. We have to continue daily. 

James 1:2-4  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I get it now. I really get it! "Joy comes after mourning" "Count it all joy"... it's all true, it all makes sense! Joy may look like sadness sometimes but I have joy knowing my future. So what may look like trials or hard times can actually be a true gift if we persevere. I pray you do.

Hope is thought of and mentioned daily still in our house. Still miss her, still love her. That won't end while I am here on this earth, but I have the promise of eternity and that's what I'm living for.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in thatwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him fromthe wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.