Why I Have HOPE

You know, having a chronic illness really bites. It stinks. It's unfair. It's crappy. It's changed my life forever. But you know what? It's all good.

How can I possibly say that? Well, for one, my life is better than it was before. I have more fulfilling relationships, I'm more patient, I love more deeply and am quicker to forgive. I appreciate the beauty around me.

Before I got too sick to work, I worked 55+ hours a week. I was on call 24/7. I was stressed out more than any one human being should be. I drank too much. I was in inappropriate relationships. I didn't see the light of day much, and I didn't appreciate all that I had.

Now I look out my back window and see open fields. Every season I say is my favorite. The winter fields covered with a blanket of pure white snow...only marred by the occasional animal track. In spring, everything turns that bright yellow-green and the buds bloom on every living thing out there. Summer time, everything is lush and green and abundant. And autumn...may be my favorite. The trees are amazing, but even the fields turn yellow and purple and maroon and wheat-colored. It's simply stunning.

But do you know what gives me the most hope? Because I KNOW that someday, when this fleeting life is over, I will be perfect for eternity. Jesus said so. And I believe Him. When compared to eternity, the number of MY days here on earth is barely a drop in a bucket compared to the number of days in eternity.

So if it stinks? Oh well. If I have 20 bad days in a row? I'll have 20 MILLION great days in heaven. I will be whole. I will sing. I will swim. I will run. I will do what I have not been able to do ever...throw my little boy up in the air and catch him. I don't care how big he is!

I have bad days. Lots of them. But I have good days too. And the BEST day down here is the worst day in eternity. Because then, I shall see God face to face, and He will put His arms around me, and hopefully tell me the words I long to hear: "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

This song is by Jeremy Camp, and it's called "There Will Be A Day."

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
That we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears,
no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel your walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always
will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery
This is why this is why I sing….

There will be a day with no more tears,
no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face

There will be a day,
He’ll wipe away the stains,
He’ll wipe away the tears,
He’ll wipe away the tears…..there will be a day.