Monday- Trusting Hope
WEEK ONE - HOPE
Written by Emilee Connell D’Umanzor, SoloHope
Trusting Hope
----
• Read Luke 1:26-38 •
How do you have hope when all hope seems lost? It’s the question that keeps echoing in my mind.
The last couple years have felt heavy- not just hard. They’ve brought forth some of my worst held fears of postpartum anxiety and a flood of emotions from unresolved grief.
At times, it has felt suffocating. I wondered if I would survive. How do you hold onto hope when it feels like it’s slipping through your fingers like sand?
You don’t. Hope holds onto you.
Because hope isn’t just an idea or a feeling. Hope has a name.
Since the moment the snake slithered on the scene and convinced Adam and Eve to disobey, Hope has always been there, even in the shadows- awaiting the day True Hope restored would come.
Hope didn’t let go of Noah and his family as the world’s surface was covered with water. Hope didn’t let go when Abraham walked his son up Mount Moriah. Hope was there in the thicket. Hope held on through wars and affairs and captivity. It held on through fear and betrayal, through lies and barrenness until Hope grew in the womb of a young innocent Hebrew girl, who asked a simple question: “How can this be?”
Maybe we all ask this question in our own way:
How can this be when I feel lost and alone?
How can this be when I’ve done nothing deserving?
How can this be when I failed You once again?
How can this be when I can’t even find the strength to hope anymore?
But from the beginning of time, when all hope felt lost- or impossible- Hope was still holding on…
Hope came. Hope came with skin on to dwell among us. His name is Jesus.
And He’s never let go. Not then. Not now. Not in the dark nights. Not in fear or anxiety. Not in grief. Not in heartbreak. Not in death.
Hope never lets go, and He never will.
PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, on the days hope feels absent or lost, help me to trust that Hope holds on when I cannot. Just as Mary held You in her arms, You hold me. You are Hope and I trust You. Please strengthen my hope during this Advent season. Amen
----
The mission of SoloHope (Spanglish for “Only Hope”) is to build relationships, strengthen communities, and renew hope through a holistic approach of community development and empowerment.
We work in seven communities in the rural mountains of Honduras, in the department of Intibucá. Each year, thousands of seeds of hope are sown into the hearts of the people of Honduras through our public health projects, school partnerships, home visits, Día del Niño celebrations, and Christmas gift deliveries.
We believe that God has placed these tools and strategies in our hands to share the love of Christ, which transforms hearts and communities.
Ways to Get Involved
• Pray for SoloHope, the Umanzor family, and the people of Honduras.
• Join “la familia” by becoming a monthly donor.
• Go! Consider joining a mission team to serve in Honduras with SoloHope.