hope

sometimes...

life is just hard.

sometimes you have to walk through valleys. sometimes you have to suffer pains. sometimes you have to wrestle with doubts. sometimes you have to stumble through darkness. sometimes you have to climb rugged mountains. sometimes you have to fight to stay above water. sometimes you have to battle fear. sometimes you have have to hold on.

there's just sometimes you have to trust.

but it's amazing to me that no matter what the circumstances feel like...no matter how tough it seems...no matter how much you want to give up...whether its a glimmer or a flood, there's always hope.

hope. it's a gift from God. a very good God. and i'm thankful to Him right now for hope. that we can always trust in a good God who gives us hope no matter the times we find ourselves in!

there's a book called, The Valley of Vision. it's a collection of puritan prayers, and sometimes it can be so uplifting to the soul to pray along with the rich love and theology of our fathers. check this out:

"Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime, stars can be seen from the deepest wells
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine
Let me find thy light in my darkness
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley."