Hope Archives - The Ultimate Gift

June 11, 2014

A Time of Transition

My daughter, my baby, and my miracle, all wrapped up quite neatly into one person will be graduating from high school in a few short hours. Just the thought brings tears to my eyes, happy ones of course. According to the dictionary, to graduate means to complete an academic degree, course of training, or high school. The ceremony tonight is called commencement. To commence means to start or begin. Hmm…which is it, an ending or a beginning? I am going to give one of Hillary’s favorite answers—both! It is an ending AND a beginning all rolled up into one special evening. We celebrate her accomplishments tonight and look forward to what God has in store for the next chapter of her life. As her newly decorated graduation cap states, “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow!” If you’ve ever been to Disney World you might remember that quote from the Carousel of Progress. There’s a chance you might even be singing it right now!

A time of transition…are you there? It applies to much more than graduation. Did you just pass your driver’s test? Get married? Divorced? Have your first child? Send a child off to school for the first time? Begin a new job? Retire? Are you moving? Grieving? All of these events and many more involve a time of transition, moving from one chapter to the next, a beginning and an end. Life will never be quite the same. Sometimes that thought makes us sad and other times it makes us happy. Change can be scary and exciting, sometimes all at once. Do you embrace change or fear it? If you’re like me, it just depends on the circumstances.

If you can relate on any level to where I find myself today as a parent of a graduate, I want to leave you with two somewhat familiar, but powerful, promises found in God’s Word that bring me comfort during these times of transition:

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NLT)

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. (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

Dedicated to my graduate, Hillary Jayne Leipold, and all graduates from the Class of 2014

May 19, 2014

A Day to Remember, A Day to Forget

I can’t believe it’s May 19th again. That could very well be what my sister is thinking as she adds another candle to her birthday cake. Time flies when you’re having fun, right? What about when you aren’t? The truth is it really doesn’t matter whether you’re having fun or not, there are still 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, etc. It only seems that it is going faster when you’re having fun.

May 19th has become notorious for me in recent years for a reason apart from my sister’s birthday. This year marks 3 years since my infamous elbow surgery gone bad. It seemed like such a simple procedure at the time, but the results were (and still are) quite complicated. As the days and weeks followed, I slowly came to realize that my life had taken an unexpected turn, at least from my perspective. This new route has been far from fun. Time doesn’t seem to be moving all that fast on this road I’ve been traveling. As I write this I am reminded of the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land. If I remember correctly it took them 40 years to make a journey that should have taken 9 days. That’s quite a disparity! Apparently they weren’t ready to enter the Promised Land quite yet so God took them on a detour. While on that detour He molded and shaped their character to prepare them for their future. Apparently it was a very lengthy process! While wandering in the desert, they moaned, grumbled and complained, grew impatient and were even fearful at times. I’m not so different from the Israelites. Are you?

For as long as I am on this road that I am currently traveling, I vow to remember that there is purpose in it and wanted to remind you that there is purpose in the detours of your life as well. Let us rejoice in that knowledge.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope …” Romans 5:3-4 (ESV)

I don’t know how long it might take us to reach our “promised land” but I believe with every part of my being that He will sustain us on His chosen path. Not only sustain us, but also make us look more like Jesus in the process. Our hope is in Him, now and forever. Amen.

March 20, 2014May 8, 2014

New Life, Fresh Hope

What is the first thing you think of when you think of spring? My pastor asked that question to open a sermon several years ago. I turned to the friend beside me and said, “flowers” and she instantly replied that she was surprised I didn’t say baseball. Me too! What was I thinking? At the beginning of every season there is fresh hope for winning a championship. I reminded myself of that each year as I remained faithful to my Buccos throughout their 20 consecutive losing seasons. No matter what it is you think of when you think of spring, I imagine it has something to do with new life and/or fresh hope.

I find it somewhat ironic that the 64-team NCAA basketball tournament gets underway today, the first day of spring. I am excited for both! It has been a LONG winter and even though the weather may not feel quite springlike, there is something hopeful about officially moving into that season. I enjoy watching nature come alive as God breathes new life into all that was dormant over the winter months.

There are 64 NCAA basketball teams who have hope of winning a national championship as we mark this first day of spring. No matter their record, their seeding or their level of play heading into the tournament, each of those 64 teams starts fresh today with the hope of winning a title. The slate is clean.

Jesus came so that we, too, could have new life, fresh hope. When He died on a cross for our sins our slates were wiped clean also. He was the final and perfect sacrifice, paving the way to the Father through faith in Him.

Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIRV)

The best part—the invitation isn’t just limited to 64! God is not looking at your record or judging your level of play and seeding you accordingly. He offers new life to all who believe.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17 NLT)

There are no other qualifications necessary. Won’t you accept the invitation? I guarantee victory!

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. (Psalm 60:12 NIV)

January 3, 2014May 8, 2014

New Year, New Focus

Upon recommendation from my pastor I have been reading the Bible online through various plans offered at YouVersion, the Bible App, for the past several years. I get an email from YouVersion every so often encouraging me to keep up the good work or sometimes to let me know that I’ve missed a few days. The other day I received a different message. In this message, it was suggested that I choose a verse to focus on in the new year. I have been thinking about it ever since. It is kind of overwhelming to try to pick just one from God’s instruction manual for living.

As I have been thinking about this, God brought something to mind from the first Christian fiction that I ever read, the Mitford series by Jan Karon. In this series of books, the main character, Father Tim, often resorted to the prayer that never fails when he was at a loss for words and would simply say, “Your will be done.” This has stuck with me over the years for a few reasons. It is so simply stated and it really is the prayer that never fails.

While I was trying to come up with a focus verse I looked for verses that pertained to healing because that is the desire of my heart and is never far from my mind. That, and my doctor says we’re going to fix it in ’14! I know this—we are certainly going to give it our best shot. Ultimately, though, I have decided to choose part of the Lord’s Prayer for my focus verse of the year..your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 NIV) Why that one? Because it is the prayer that never fails!

The prayer I offer for healing, on behalf of all those who are suffering, is that it would happen in His perfect time and in His perfect way. There is no guarantee we’re going to fix it in ’14, maybe not even in this lifetime, but there WILL be healing. I shall leave the details to Him. Why? Because I am His child and He loves me. I believe He knows and wants what is best for me. His promise in Romans 8:28 to use it ALL for my good, even the unwanted, undesirable circumstances of life, brings me comfort in the midst of the pain. He makes that promise to each of His children.

I pray as I walk through this new year He would help me overcome my pride and selfish desires and simply want what He wants. The beginning of the Lord’s Prayer as written in The Message states, Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what’s best— as above, so below. Amen?

Do you have a verse to focus on in 2014? If so, I’d love to have you share it here at theultim8gift.com. Let’s hold each other accountable and stay FOCUSED!