#hopeisnotlost by: Julie Wicker
My Dad’s most recent procedure was successful. I was overwhelmed with Joy when I got the news from mom that the procedure had worked. It was not long when that joy was crushed. The next message I get from mom was that they could not wake Dad, his oxygen was low, and they would have to put him in ICU on a ventilator. As I struggled through packing and picking up kids and getting on the road to start traveling to Mom and Dad, I felt like all hope was lost. As the evening went on, we received better news. Dad was awake and breathing better. By 10:00pm he was breathing on his own and I was having a phone conversation with my Dad. I was overwhelmed with Joy again.

The next day I was able to visit my Dad in ICU. My Dad looked so peaceful, he looked like a picture of Hope. Have you ever taken a moment to think about what hope looks like? He was weak but he was alive and breathing. The story he shared of how that day unfolded in recovery and ICU was hard to hear. I was just thankful I was able to listen to Dad in that moment face to face. On this trip my sister and I had to have some hard conversations with Mom and Dad. It was nice to hear Dad talk about plans six months from now.
One of my favorite bible stories is that of Naomi and Ruth. I’ve talked about this story in a blog post called Flaws Stitched with Grace on May 11, 2017. At that time, I focused on Ruth. Today I would like to take a closer look at Naomi. We read in Ruth 1, in a 10-year span; Naomi lost her husband, Elimelech and her two sons; Mahion and Kilion. She was left with two daughters-in-law’s; Orpah and Ruth. You would think all hope is lost as we read in verse 12 where Naomi instructs Orpah and Ruth to; “Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me – even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons”.
Fast forward to Chapter 4 verse 9, Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer buys the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahion. And in verse 10, Boaz acquires Ruth as his wife. In verses 14-17, Ruth has a son named Obed who happens to be the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of David. Specifically, in verse 14; “The woman said to Naomi: “praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel”.
See God never left Naomi, hope was there all along, it was never lost. In times where hope seems out of reach, remember Naomi and how God sent her a kinsman-redeemer. You may want to focus on the negative, how Naomi had lost so much. But in this story and in our lives today God can turn what was meant to harm us for his good and his glory as we read in Romans 8:28.
I pray we can all cling to hope through Jeremiah’s words in Chapter 29, verse 11; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a Future”.