Bringing Home a Little Hope from the Beach

As I've shared before, this verse perfectly describes how we have done life since the beginning of this journey.  I remember sitting in Paige's first hospital room--watching her sleep off those first rounds of chemo.  Completely broken, I read scripture after scripture, praying God would speak to me--and then through me as I put our first blog post together.  The post that would serve as the beginning of our journey and proclaim my complete faith in God's incredible mercy and grace.  This is the verse that clicked with me.  It's all about prayer, patience, and hope.  Hope is an amazing gift, my friends.  Grounded in the Word of God, hope actually keeps us grounded and focused, keeping our eyes on the prize.  It helps us press on through life's struggles.  One of my favorite promises is found in Jeremiah 29:11.  It speaks of God's plans for us--plans that give us hope and a future.  

That's not to say that times don't get tough.  Nobody experiences smooth sailing and blue skies all the time.  We can all find ourselves struggling when life's waters get rough.  That's when it becomes even more important to hold on to even the tiniest glimpse of hope.  Our Lighthouse friends wanted to drive this point home by sending a Hope Box with us on our drive home.  Its contents are meant to serve as a reminder of that incredible week of rest and restoration.  A CD of music.  Bibles for parents and kiddos.  A copy of Jesus Calling for daily devotion time.  A picture frame that will soon hold one of my favorite photos of us with our Family Partners.  And my favorite item--a Hope Jar. 

The Hope Jar is filled with scriptures, song lyrics, and notes of encouragement from the whole Lighthouse team, who prayed over all of the retreat families as they assembled these gifts.  Our jar now sits in a prominent place in our living room, ready and waiting to provide those reminders of hope when we need them most.  I can't think of a more perfect way to bring home a little hope from the beach.