Anchored
The nature of infant loss occurring in 1 out of 4 pregnancies, means that there are new women joining our community on a weekly basis. Over the next few weeks, we want to repost some of our earliest blog articles to encourage the dear mommas that have recently joined the ministry and community of Hope Mommies. Although these posts may have been written many years ago, the truths they contain remain the same. God is enough. He has always been enough. And as we place our hope in Him, we will find that He is our anchor in the midst of this storm of grief.
Have you ever looked up the definition of the word “hope”? According to dictionary.com, it can be a noun, a verb with a direct object, or a verb without an object. “To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence” sums it up best, I think.
“To look forward to…” What am I looking forward to? I look forward to a joy-filled day, when I hold a healthy son or daughter. I look forward to a full house, with natural and adopted children. I look forward to being a stay-at-home mom, to having teenagers, to my daughter’s wedding, to my first grandchild. I look forward toward those things, with a very passionate desire. But do I have reasonable confidence those things will happen?
I’ve been ruminating on how our lives often turn out so differently than we plan. And I’m thankful for that, because I don’t think any human being has creativity and imagination the way the Lord does. He dreams up good things in our lives that we could have never mapped out or imagined. And does He not orchestrate the difficult things in our lives as well? Yet, in His creativity and architecture, He makes it all beautiful, if we allow Him.
I think we often set our hopes on things that are not guaranteed or promised.
I do hope for all those things listed above, and I will ask the Lord for them, since I know that He cares about my heart’s desires. But my hope is not set on what I want out of life. My hope is secured to a tree and an empty grave—the restitution of my soul before a perfect God. And if He does not give me what I want, or He gives it in a different way, that doesn’t make Him less perfect or less loving. It simply makes me small.
In Hebrews 6:18-20, it explains that God is a trustworthy God who never lies and will not break His promises. Because of that, “We who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”
What is the hope that lies before us? It is the salvation of our souls from sin and death. The redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ. A perfect earth. Being united with our children and other believers who have gone before us to heaven. And God says that this hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor.
That is my hold on reality, what stays my soul when I am overwhelmed by grief. I am confident of what is yet to come. My anchor is not placed on how many children I want to have, the house I want, the lifestyle I want, the ministry I want. My anchor is ever and only Jesus Christ. He alone is unmovable.
What are you anchored to today?
This post originally appeared on the Hope Mommies blog on February 15, 2011
- Erin
Hope Mom to Gwendolyn and Baby Cush
Erin Cushman is the founder of Hope Mommies. She is married to Blair and has four children: Gwendolyn, who has been with Jesus since October 20, 2010, Malacai, who is three, Gemma, born in June 2015, and Baby Cush. She loves photography, gardening, cooking, reading, playing with her children, and especially loves when all those things combine.
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