He Gives Hope
On October 7, 2009, 17 days before his first birthday, my son B was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. And I praised God. Because it was the most common type of childhood cancer…because it was the most curable type of childhood cancer…because he was missing all of the genetic markers that put him at a high risk of not beating this. And then. He got worse. And worse. And we were moved to the pediatric intensive care unit. And he was put on a ventilator. And he had a hole in his lung. And he needed a chest tube. And finally. An explanation for why he was so sick. He had a very serious, very life threatening fungal infection. We were told he had days to live…a week at the most. I was told again and again “Don’t lose hope. You can’t ever give up hope.” And I had to really analyze, really consider what I thought it meant to have hope.
I did not think he was going to live. Of course I wanted him to. Of course I would give everything I had, my life itself, if it meant that he would live. But still…I was not “hopeful” that he would make it. And yet, I had hope.
My hope is set on something completely different. It comes from a completely different place than just wanting what I want to happen, to actually happen. “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness.” I have hope. I have hope that there is a life after this one. I have hope that I’ll spend forever praising the one who made me…who saved me. And I have hope that B will be completely healed and whole…either on this earth, or in eternity with Christ.
And how do I know those things? Because they’ve been promised to me. And because of what Christ has promised me, I can “be joyful in HOPE, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Rom 12:12) He hasn’t just promised me hope, He’s called me to hope. And He’s called you too. I’m praying you’ll listen.
He Gives Hope 
Beautifully written. Reminds me of these verses from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
He does give hope. Our hope is in someone – not something. Our hope is a longing for a person, not a place. Our hope in Him gives us confidence in our future, even if our circumstances change. That message comes through so strongly in your blog. We know that is how you have made it through these 2+ months.
I love the passage that Melanie posted too. The rest of that passage also gives us more hope. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.”
yay!! so excited you started a blog, i’ve been (secretly) hoping you would!
loved the line…My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. so beautiful and perfect.
You don’t know me but I have been following your family and praying for you and your precious son. God is so faithful and it is so encouraging to read about your hope and peace that surpasses ALL understanding. Thank you.
I am also excited about your blog! I also think you have greatly underestimated your ability to write. In fact, I think you may have a gift for it! It seems so personal, almost like we are having a conversation! I look forward to reading many more blogs from you! I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, you are such an inspiration!
Wow. That was awesome.