Hope

This year has been a pretty rough year for a number of reasons. I won't go into detail, but the other day I sent an email out to two of my greatest friends- Hannah and Celeste (we have been close friends since high school and still keep in touch, sending one another emails a few times a week). I was having a rough week, so I spilled my guts in this email...laid it all on the line and explained everything that seemed to be going wrong. Of course they emailed me back right away with great advice :) Celeste had mentioned having hope and an open heart. So today I decided to look through scripture for verses on hope. One that really stuck out to me is Romans 5:3-5:

"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

My Bible has excellent footnotes and broke the verses down like this:

When we (as believers) go through tough times, hope of receiving what God has promised grows stronger. And, we know that hope of great future blessings will not turn out to be false, because the Holy Spirit lays God's love on our hearts.

Though it is difficult, I am trying to be hopeful. To place my hope in Christ and not material things. I am sure that if I can hold on to this hope and surround my life in it, things will begin to become easier to handle.