GOD IS HOPE!

So today I spent most of the day completing the videos for Lauren's Memory Page.  Needless to say, I spent most of the day sobbing and crying.  Creating the videos and finding the songs to go along with the videos brought back memories that I have been trying to ignore.  I found several songs online that described perfectly how I felt about the loss of Lauren.  One of the songs I found today was a song called "With Hope" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

The Lyrics of the Song - With Hope Are...

This is not at all

how we thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams

And now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
(There's a place by God's grace)
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father's smile and say well done

And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now you're home
And now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so ...

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

So, I decided to google Steven Curtis Chapman to see what inspired this song... I found out that he had written this song for one of his friends who lost a child tragically.  Two years later his 5 year old daughter was hit by a car and killed accidentally by her oldest brother.  So sad, but I know that the words of this song comforted them like it has comforted me today (although, I cried and cried while I listened to it).

During my google search I ran across this blog entry by someone (I have never read his blog, but this entry really helped me today). http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/where-is-the-hope-in-the-steven-curtis-chapman-tragedy/  This entry was written in response to something he had written the previous day (I am not sure what the first entry said, because I did not read it).  Below is an excerpt from his page. Everywhere it says Steven Curtis Chapman, I replaced with my name (well almost everywhere).

Where is the hope in this death of Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter? 

 How can you say God is good?

Let’s be honest here.  It is hard to say, “God is good,” during situations that bring us to utter pain and desolation.  But the path to hope and healing always goes through doubt, pain, anger, grief, and mourning.  To not be able to bring our honest and real anger, doubts, and pain to God makes a mockery of the veracity and the redemptive power and grace of Christ.

But there is a path.

There is Hope because Death Does Not Have the Final Say!  While I clearly cannot speak for God, I do not believe this death was the will of God.  It concerns me when Christians are so easily able to explain events as “this was the will of God.”  But nevertheless, it is not outside the Sovereignty of God.  In other words, God is in control, remains in control and will always be in control.  God was not surprised.  He is sovereign and He alone is God

There is HOPE – even in this tragedy – because it cannot separate us from the

love of God that is the gospel of Christ:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]

There is HOPE because the Chapmans do not journey alone.  For example, as evidenced by the millions that searched for their stories on search engines, the thousands [literally] of comments on the In Memory of Maria tribute and blog posts, people care.  The body of Christ cares.  When we don’t have the courage and strength to HOPE, others HOPE for us.  No one person or one family exists on an island to themselves.  This is the beauty of the body of Christ.

There is HOPE because ultimately, God cares.  He has not forgotten or forsaken. And He continues to use all circumstances and situations – even tragedies – to beckon His children and the larger creation – back unto Himself.  God restores.  God reconciles. God redeems.  There is HOPE because there is Life beyond this world.  There is HOPE because in short, there is God. 

God is HOPE.

THANK You to my family and friends who have reached out to me even when I haven't reached back.  Thank you for hoping for me while I have not had the strength to hope.  Thank you for caring for me and loving me and my children.

Daring to Dream Again,

Von