Hope

Today, I got the privilege of visiting my good friend Michael. Michael and I are education buddies. I started attending the same private Christian school as him in third grade and he was one of the 13 people I graduated high school with. And it turns out, that my encouragement for him to come visit Dallas Baptist University our freshmen year was the reason he eventually transferred in our sophomore year. He became a good friend during our college years and a friendship that I knew would last for awhile.

For the past several years, he has been battling Leukemia. He started another round of chemotherapy this morning and will have a bone marrow transplant soon. It's amazing how life can always turn out differently than you expect. But it's always encouraging to see people of God take the difficulties that life throws them and take it with grace, humility, and hope. This is what he wrote about Hope yesterday, the day before he starts another round of chemo.

Hope

Hope has a good memory, but he knows what is worth focusing on.

Hope thinks bad things are causes and good things are effects.

Hope understands Faith better than anyone.

Probability and Statistics are jealous of Hope because he knows more than they do.

Hope lives on the same street as Fear and Anger, but he can shut them up when they throw loud parties.

Hope likes nothing better than winding up Thankfulness and letting him rant.

Hope is hardier than a cockroach and has a longer shelf-life than a Twinkie. He can come back to life, even when you think he is dead.

Hope seems dull in the sun, but he shines in the shadows.

When Hope breaks wind, he owns up and moves on.

Hope knows how to laugh at himself.

Hope cares about the body, but his real business is with the soul.

Hope has many faces. He looks like you and me when we pray for and encourage others. He always looks a little like Christ.

When Hope gets down, he leans on Love and Trust.

Hope is a little taller than Suffering.