A Taste of Hope

Year 4-Day 110:  Today, I am grateful for a morning Taste of Hope. 

This is something I rarely post about here...confidentiality means some stories can't be told... although some day, I may ask to tell some of the stories in the video below. But, trust me...God is ever moving and ever present in the darkest of days. His timing is exquisite. 

God wove St. Jude into my journey... not as a St. Jude family...but as an employee.  Nearly 20 years of the combined taste of hope...tears...sickness...healing...loss...and the life changing experience of the walk with cancer. Nothing is the same when your child receives a cancer diagnosis. Please watch the video below. It is about 8 minutes and worth every one.  The message is clear that hope floats!

You will see cardboard messages will tug your heartstrings in the sweetest ways.  

For me... I see stories. Stories I know...and stories that aren't over... because God is still moving in the lives of these families.  Not all in the same way, but He is ever present... every moving... ever calling us to Him... and ever sovereign. He is  the one who restores...the one who saves...the one who speaks truth into the darkness and light invades. 

His light drives out darkness.  Hope secures. Love never fails. 

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you. - Psalm 39:7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P4Koc83R2k

Wow!  Right?

There are no words to express the blessings of my season at St. Jude. I am so deeply humbled that God allowed me the privilege of sharing their lives and their stories. Sometimes, I think that after his saving, redeeming grace that restored me to a personal relationship with Him and changed my heart... it is the time he planted me there that grew my faith and heart.   

If ever a charity puts "their money where there mouth is"...it is St. Jude. Our Peoria Midwest Affiliate is the oldest of it's kind ...and the Peoria Fundraising events have inspired events all over the USA.  Want to hear the crazy thing? The best ideas are born in the hearts of the volunteers who give an hour or two ... or a day or two... and lose their hearts to the cause and the kids.  St. Jude does what it does so well because volunteers find passion in sharing the hope.  

When the time came for Him to move me...it was a process. I asked that he would make the path clear. Very clear. He did.  I didn't understand it then...but hindsight is 20/20. I have experienced bold snapshots of His sovereignty in the past few years...and learned even more about the shelter of his wings. Some times He winks...some times He struts his stuff! 

Today, I am grateful Libby shared this video and I caught it. I am grateful for the faces and the messages shared.  I am grateful for the lives represented and their stories. I am grateful for their continuing stories...

Today, I am grateful for a morning Taste of Hope.