HOPE: /hōp/
noun
1. a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
synonyms: aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, plan, dream,
2.a feeling of trust.
verb
1.want something to happen or be the case.
synonyms: expect, anticipate, look for, wait for, be hopeful of, pin one’s hopes on, want

I lost a good friend last week, Barbara.

I had so much HOPE that God would heal her, HOPE that she would be whole again, HOPE that things would return to normal, HOPE that cancer would lose and we would win her back again. HOPE that this would be the end of a chapter in her life and not the end of life.

That wasn’t God’s plan.

Does that mean that I have lost HOPE?!
Absolutely not! I HOPE that I can be as kind and friendly as Barbara was. I HOPE that like Barbara when people leave my presence they feel better and happier for having been with me. I HOPE that I can praise God despite not being able to breathe. I HOPE that my life can be like Barbara’s, at the mention of my name people cry because they miss me but quickly start to smile and laugh because of all the happy and good things. I HOPE it can be said of me “well done.”

Today we will celebrate the wonderful and full life of Barbara. I have HOPE because I will see her again in Heaven.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a HOPE.
Jeremiah 29:11

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