Gripping Hope

Source: sarahbear9708.tumblr.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Living this out...

My dad has been sick with an assortment of things for the last few months. He literally has been in the hospital every day since the middle of July. Much of the problems surrounded his digestive tract where he had had a surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and had sections of his intestines removed as they were inflamed from the stress of the tumor. After weeks of not being able to eat, the doctors finally saw an abcess in the area where they had resectioned his intestines. They were hopeful it would repair itself but after he got sicker and sicker, they opted for a surgery to removed the abcess. The surgery proved to be difficult and he lost a lot of blood during it. He was taken to the ICU where the loss of blood caused his blood pressure to be unstable. It never restabilized. This morning, around 2 a.m., my dad just couldn't keep up anymore.

Oh such heartache for my kids who were blessed with a grandpa who loved them in delightful ways like bringing doughnuts to them for breakfast or taking them in his pick up to go feed the cows. And oh such heartache for my dear Mama who just finds herself wishing for a few more moments that weren't enveloped within the walls of the hospital.

So much heartache because he loved much and was loved in return.

Lamentations 3:19-27 (The Message)

19-21I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
22-24God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.
25-27God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.

We keep a grip on hope, believing that God's love has not run out, that His faithfulness is new each morning.