HOPE for the Holidays - Day 16

My Rebecca, a beautiful bride, 2004

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will HOPE in Him!"
   (Lam. 3:22-24)










Story of HOPE:

       In this mama's opinion, my Rebecca was one of the most gorgeous brides I've ever seen. Today's story of HOPE is about another beautiful bride. Long years ago...

       the brilliant sunshine in the cloudless, blue sky dimmed in comparison to her radiant beauty. "What a lovely bride," the people said. "And what a good family she has married into. Dreams truly do come true."
       Ten short years later, however, her handsome groom died, and her happily-ever-afters shattered in a thousand and one painful pieces. With an economy as broken as her heart, times grew hard and the future looked dismal. The young woman, determined to provide for her widowed mother-in-law and herself, found work on a farm as a common laborer.
       (If you've never heard this story, you're probably saying, "Jill, you call this sad tale a story of HOPE???" Hang in there, reader, a happy ending's coming! I promise!)
        Well, it didn't take long for that farmer (who just happened to be single himself) to notice the beautiful young widow working his fields. Long story short, they fell in love, married, and soon had a sweet, little, baby boy: Obed. Obed would have a son named Jesse, who would have a son named King David

"And David was the great, great, great,
Great, great (times three, times one, plus eight)
Great, grand-dad of a man whose wife 
You've probably heard of all your life.

A man who's son, to be precise,
Was JESUS. NO?! YES! JESUS CHRIST!
Just take a second, think it through.
Oh, what God will go and do!

For God is love and love is kind,
The kindest that you'll ever find,
The kindest that you'll ever see,
That's something else, don't you agree?!1

O Father, I pray HOPE for every reader whose dreams have shattered and lay in a thousand and one pieces around their feet. Please help them to come to the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ and find Your future HOPES and dreams for them.

1 I LOVE RUTHIE, Phil A. Smouse. 2002