Don't get your hopes up.....

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” –Hebrews 11:1

What should you do when someone tells you “Don’t get your hopes up”.* I guess that depends on the context in which it is spoken.

For example: “I really wish I could loose 35 pounds and not make any changes to my diet.”

Response: “Don’t get your hopes up”

Translation: “Put that Twinkie down you mo-ron”

But let’s just say, it happens more like this…..

“I was wondering if you have heard anything positive about our case”

Response: “Don’t get your hopes up….but…..

Translation: "Could something be on the horizon for us? Like soon?!?!?"

So what do we make of that? There are so many nuances in the English language. Really the secret lies with the word “but” . It’s like a little disclaimer saying “I don’t want you to get upset if this is a false alarm, BUT, I think something good is just around the corner, BUT I’m not at liberty to discuss any details because, well, I don’t want you to get your hopes up.” So is it really better NOT to get your hopes up? Or is that like saying “Oh my gosh, smell this! It’s the worst smell you have ever smelt?” Whadda ya do? You smell it of course! You just can't help yourself. You jump right in with reckless abandon. I mean with the word "but" you may be disappointed if say TWO WEEKS goes by and your hopes are dashed, but isn’t it better to hope than to never hoped at all?

“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark” - George Iles

So hear we are, holding out our hands in the dark.

*Disclaimer: This blog contains cryptic messages. You can take as little or as much away from it as your imagination allows.

Top of the pile.....

Please say a prayer for us as things start moving again in Russia following the winter break. It’s my understanding that by January 15th things should be in full operation again. Our motto has been “Top of the pile” meaning that whatever crazy system is in place that we don’t understand, we are hoping that when things start moving again our paperwork is on the top of the pile. I didn’t think we would be in danger of things expiring before we got Baby Deetz home, but our window is starting to narrow. Chad’s passport expires in December, which is like it expiring in June since it has to be good within six months. When we started this process December 2010 seemed like an eternity away. Other documents will start to expire in early Summer as well.

Some good news: We’ve started to receive “overage” checks from our agency. That means that when you give towards our family builder’s fund through C.W.A. it’s still tax deductible for you, but the money is sent directly to our personal savings fund for the adoption. That way we can offset the huge travel expense (times 2) that is looming in the hopefully near future. When I get a check for $25 I think “That’s a meal in Russia!” When we get $100, I think “That’s a night in a hotel!”. I am so thankful for your generous gifts. You have been so good to us. Those little amounts are chipping away at such an unknown source of stress for us. “How much will all these flights, trains, hotels, visas, tips, and food cost?”

We’ve also been collecting little gifties for the orphans and workers so that’s one less thing I have to worry about when we go. I’ve had a few offers from church groups to fill couple of suitcases full of baby clothes, shoes, and tiny toys for the children and small feminine items for the workers (perfume, jewelry, scarves, make-up) to take with us. I would rather bring less clothes for me to bring more things for them! When we make our first trip we will just need to give $250 in financial aid to the orphanage, but I would like to also take as much stuff as possible when we go too, especially for the children. Then on the second trip, I guess is suppose to be our big “gift” trip~ bringing things for the workers.

So, here we are. Please say a little prayer for us this week. Repeat after me: “Top of the pile…..Top of the pile…..”

Hope

A Christian will part with anything rather than his hope; he knows that hope will keep the heart both from aching and breaking, from fainting and sinking; he knows that hope is a beam of God, a spark of glory, and that nothing shall extinguish it till the soul be filled with glory.
--Thomas Brooks

Hope has been a common theme this week in my life. Hope, for such a small word it carries a big punch. I have never been so hopeful in all my life. We are hoping for a referral, and soon. We are hoping that our baby is being loved and hugged and has enough to eat. We are hoping that our friends Steve and Kate get a court date soon to bring home their son. We are hoping for answers for Chad’s adolescent cousin's mysterious illness. We are hoping for the healing of a family in our church involved in a car accident who lost their two year old daughter. We are hoping that our friend finds a job, we are hoping that a co-worker’s family member’s test results come back negative for cancer.

Chad spoke to the teens on Wednesday night about hope. His scripture was from Hebrews 11: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
It was an inspirational message, as it always is. My little “hope meter” was restored! Then Thursday the news broke about the Fort Hood shootings. It was so senseless, so frightening. Our hearts ached with the loss of hope in mankind’s goodness. What has happened to our World?

That evening we were watching our “get me through till Lost starts again” show- Flashforward. It’s a great show by the way, and the episode we watching was themed around hope, more specifically, hope for the future. The premise is that everyone on the planet “blacked out” and saw a 2 ½ minute glimpse into their future on a specific date and time. Some people’s visions were joyful, some were ho-hum, some were frightening, others saw nothing but blackness, leading them to believe that on April 29, 2010 they would no longer be “part of the living”. They were left without hope. Stripped of life before it was even taken. But can’t the future be changed if we work to alter it’s course? Even God changes his mind…. Consider Jonah 3:10: “He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened” or Exodus 32: 12-14 “So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people". God hears our prayers and is moved by out petitions.

Today after I returned from lunch news broke of a shooting in an office building in my hometown. Two people were confirmed dead and several others were still unaccounted for. Once again, my hope in humanity was snuffed out. We all talked about “what our world is coming to” and I called a few friends that work in downtown Orlando to make sure everyone was alright.

I found this quote from St. Augustine that rang true for me: “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.” Out of hope is born a righteous anger that isn’t afraid to combat evil and the courage to not be overcome with fear of the evil that is all around us.

This week I saw great hope too, through the birth of a new baby. Carl Sandburg once said that “a baby is God's opinion that the world should go on”. I don’t know of a better way to say it. 2 Timothy 1:7 confirms in us that “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” There is power in hope. So I choose to remain hopeful. God is and always will be in charge.