faith, hope, love

Last night as I headed to bed Rob and I talked about going to sleep full of hope for a flurry of good news for the day to follow, while also having a heart prepared and steadfast for the strong possibility of another day with no news at all. I love the NASB translation of Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We must have faith to have hope. Something Pastor Bill Johnson posted yesterday on his facebook page caught my eye as I was in the very midst of falling back into the arms of faith to find hope. He said, “Any area of my life for which I have no hope is under the influence of a lie.” Yeah, that… So we hope by way of faith and deny the lie of unbelief, the one that says it is hopeless to go to sleep filled with hope, only to wake for another round of disappointment. That lie. But there has to be more, something to bridge us from faith to hope and back again when the disappointment and discouragements come in their inevitable way. Faith, Hope,

Love.

“And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2b) It is Love who makes the fight for faith and the battle for hope, so worth it. It is Love who covers us on the nights when hope is fleeting, as a butterfly escaping a child’s reckless net. It is Love who gives us the companionship of others to remind us of the promises given and kept; resulting in our renewed faith, restored hope, resounding Love.

Today we woke, and began another day, watching, waiting, yet still living the day. Today, we are able to celebrate as news did arrive of a long awaited hurdle cleared on this marathon of red tape, agencies and paperwork. As we give thanks for the adoption decree to have arrived so Lulu’s birth certificate, passport, and medical exam may be filed for, we again wait in Faith for the Hope of swift return to a beautiful baby girl, whom we all desperately Love.