HOPE for the Holidays - Day 5

My precious family,  Bogalusa, Louisiana, 1986
(Yes, those are braces on my teeth!)

"Love each other with genuine affection...rejoice in confident HOPE. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them..." 
(Romans 12:10-13)






Story of HOPE:

       In 1986, unbeknownst to our church family, my sweet husband's business was in deep, financial trouble. As we struggled to make ends meet between stacks of bills and a very meager income, an older lady (probably around the same age I am now!), on a fixed income herself, approached me after a Sunday worship service and handed me an envelope. She simply said, "My name is Janice King, and the Holy Spirit told me to give this to you." Inside that envelope was $700 - almost to the penny the amount we owed another family in our church.
      We lost that company in Louisiana, but over the course of time, God restored our losses and graciously brought us to a place of ample provision. When I tried to locate and repay Mrs. King, I learned that she had moved on to heaven. God in His goodness, however, has provided many opportunities to pay forward the kindness shown to us in our time of need.

O Father, I pray today for my readers who are in desperate need. Please give them confident HOPE in You, patience in their troubles, and Your all-sufficient provision in Jesus' name!

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a HOPE! In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me." (Jer. 29:11-13)