Hope Changes Everything

While Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States, I sat in front of a TV screen in a room full of coworkers. All had come together with a desire to participate in the historical event.

As we viewed the sea of people cheering the new president, we were reminded that one of our coworkers stood in the midst of that crowd. A young black woman, she’d traveled across the country from Seattle to Washington DC to physically be present for the event.

Tears slid down the cheeks of people shown on the TV screen. I couldn’t help but get a little choked up myself. I’d never seen this amount of excitement or support during an inauguration.

Barack Obama is our first black president. That's awesome. But I believe something even bigger brought multitudes of people together on such a frigid winter day.

Hope.

People have been given a renewed sense of hope for this country.

Hope changes everything.

Prisoners of war survive because they cling to hope of being released.

People with serious illnesses continue living because they hope cures will be discovered.

A childless couple doesn’t give up trying to get pregnant because they hope next month will be different.

When a starving child in Africa is given a cup of rice, he has hope of making it to his next meal.

When someone has lost their home to a natural disaster, they regain hope when given supplies to start over.

When friends lose loved ones and believe they’ll never feel joy again, they experience hope when hugged and given a reassuring smile.

Without hope, people die. If not physically, they die inside.

As Christians, we know all about hope. It’s what gets us through the darkest of days, insurmountable obstacles, and heartbreak. We have hope because we know that what we experience on earth is temporary. We know there is more beyond our life here.

What can you do to help give hope to someone this week?

Dawn