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God's Extra in Our Ordinary

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

My bible gateway verse of the day.  That word Hope just grabs me.  I know what it is to feel that I am dangling by such a small thread of hope… my whole existence feeling as if it could come crashing down at any minute.  But the God I know is the God of Hope.  It is part of His goodness.  He knows that we will walk through difficulty but that hope is a lifeline and it comes by trusting Him through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I watched a cartoon this weekend that wrecked me.  Yep.  You read that right.  There is a series called Torchlighters of amazing videos that retell the real life stories of people who are heroes of the faith in cartoon form.  The girls and I watched the story of Gladys Alyward, a young woman who was rejected by a missionary society in the early 1900’s and told she was unfit for missions.  She worked as a maid and saved enough money to pay her own way to China where she felt God was calling her despite the naysayers.  All throughout her story there were providential moments that made my eyes sting with tears.  When the Japanese attacked her Chinese village in the 1940’s, she led a group of 100 orphans all by herself across the mountains to safety.  The journey took them 30 something days and she developed pneumonia and typhoid fever along the way.  Their feet were bleeding, food was scarce, and the terrain treacherous.  Gladys told the children repeatedly that Jesus would take care of them, and they could trust Him.   And He did.

Never underestimate the power of one.  What can one person do?  How can just one person make a difference?  By overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

I met a girl named Hope in a checkout line the other day.  When she said her name and shared some pain she had been through, I knew I needed to ask if I could pray with her.  Heart pounding, words fumbling, I did.  I wish I could tell you it was powerful and awesome, but mostly it was awkward and well, uncomfortable.  But when I finished her eyes were shining with tears, and she came around the check out counter to hug me.  Now that was unexpected!  

Was I faith filled Gladys leading 100 children through a dangerous mountain path to safety? No.  I was just me- shoe shopping and getting back into my nice car with my well dressed (mostly) kids to drive through a fast food window.  But the same powerful Holy Spirit lives in both of us.  And I am wrecked by the story of her faith and endurance and determination to not give up on what God had called her to do.  And I am challenged.  To lean in.  To listen.  To believe.  That the God of Hope longs to work through each of us to spread his love to those around us wherever we are.   And it doesn’t matter if the missionary society says we are unfit or if we feel awkward and fumble over our words.  For some amazing reason God has chosen to partner with us.  To show Himself strong in our weakness… if  we will just make ourselves available.

I shopped until they dropped!!!


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