Whispers of Hope
Wandering through days in the valley of the shadow of death is palpable and daunting. Memories flood the senses with all things beautiful while the heart is fragmented. Time takes on a new meaning. Another day, another week, another month. Another year refusing to stand still.
Sunny and gloomy days alike can be filled with waves of longing for what’s lost. Navigating the ebb and flow feels like paddling in a flood. Life marches on without a hint of waiting for the unendurable to subside.
Where is the hope? Forgetting how to grab onto hope can seem like a dare. I dare you to be joyful. I dare you to laugh. I dare you to enjoy a warm breeze, to embrace goodness and leave the emptiness behind, if only for a time.
Hope lies ahead; hope never fails. Hope is in the gathering of all that brings lasting joy to the heart on a journey. The shattered heart eventually finds the strength to revel along the road. The once rugged road becomes smooth. Not because of a setting aside of sorrow, but because the light which has found an opening into the cracks, is so brilliant it cannot be contained.
Whispers of hope gently make their way into the tension on the heart. The soul becomes renewed, revived, and restored. Life may never be the same again, but there are always whispers of hope.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23 (ESV)Whispers of hope are not what a parent wants to hear when they’ve lost their child–an unfathomable loss, no matter your age. Every fiber, muscle, and sinew in the body screams out, “Why my child?” It’s a depth of grief that yanks the heart from its God-designated place in the body. Breath struggles to flow freely, there’s a pause in thinking, and time stands still far too long.
My outstretched hands, offering relentless groans and tears, grasped at the air for answers to make it all make sense, only to retrieve them back—empty. It seemed all that was left were the memories of the unending joy imprinted on lives left behind. Where is hope?
Two thousand years ago, all of the world’s hope seemed lost. But after 400 years of God being silent, Hope stepped out of heaven and arrived on earth, born of a virgin, laid in a humble manger—the Hope of the world.
I had to remind myself of that hope so many times within this past year. On November 7, 2023, I lost my son to his struggle with a tormenting mental illness and an insidious drug addiction. This has tilted my life off its axis, shoving me so abruptly that, at times, my steps are shaky and unstable on the ground beneath my feet.
A few weeks ago, with my heart in my hands at church, I heard the pastor say, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
In that moment, God spoke over me His precious whisper of hope. “I’ve got your son; he sheds no more tears, he hears no more voices clamoring for his attention, he dwells with Me now.”
I surrendered my heavy, hopeless heart to trust Christ with those words. As tears flowed, I reveled in God’s love and how He, more than anyone, would understand a grieving mother’s heart. After all, He watched His mother grieve He hung on a cross for all the sins of the world.
Do you need to hear a whisper of hope from God concerning a loss, or another inner struggle that needs release? I want to encourage you to surrender it all to Jesus. He alone is not only our Hope but our Life.
My faith is firmly planted now in the hope of Christ. I know I will see my son again in his perfectly restored eternal body.
Listen for God’s whisper of hope. It will come at the right time because God’s timing is perfect. God understands and grieves with us. Lean into His arms and feel the comfort of His grace and mercy.
