Lost Hope

Have you ever been lost?  I mean...really lost?

Today, I missed my turn!  How many times have I traveled this same road and turned exactly where I should have?  I knew exactly how to get back on the right track, and in less than five minutes, I was where I should have been!

But, some are not as fortunate to get back on the right track so quickly.  In fact, my husband recently told of his experience in getting lost...he literally did not know where he was or how he came to be there.  He eventually drove a while and realized where he was and was able to get back on track and head home.

The difference is that I don't have dementia; he does.  I still have the ability to figure out what to do and which way to turn in order to be headed back in the right direction; he doesn't.

Sometimes we lose more than just our way...sometimes we lose all hope in our lives and what the future holds.  Sometimes things get so bad that we just don't know if there is any hope of them getting any better.

Many days I feel that way.  As caregiver for my husband, and watching as things go from bad, to "badder" or worse, I feel there is no hope for the future.

BUT...

There is hope!

Psalm 71:5 says, "For you, O Lord, are my hope..."; and in verse 14, "But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more."

No matter what we think our future holds, God knows!  And, we can put our trust in him and continually hope and praise Him for all He has done and will do for us.

It isn't always easy to find our way back to where we should be.  We may wander around lost in familiar surroundings, only to eventually find our way back home.

And it isn't always easy to find our hope...

I read this from Ann Voskamp recently, actually before my "lost" experience:

"Lord...so I got lost today and turned around and lost hope - and you tenderly hand us back hope tonight:  'I have plans for you - to give you a future and a hope.' (Jeremiah 29:11)"

Yes!  No matter how lost we become, God knows the way back.  He has plans for our future and gives us the hope that we may have lost; and helps us find our way...

Have you found your way back?  I pray you have!