A PLAN FOR HOPE!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

The landscape expert had recommended that we wait to get our hibiscus plants until the perennial ones came in. Since that would mean flowers year after year this sounded like a good plan to me, so when they finally arrived we bought four and planted them in the waiting soil. I watched as they began to grow and saw an abundance of tiny buds magically appear. Every day I would go outside to check on their steady progress because I was excited and just couldn’t wait for the flowers to begin to blossom! But suddenly on one cloudy afternoon, without warning, a storm blew in just before the flowers began to open and snapped off the main branch of one of the hibiscus. The broken branch lay wilting on the ground and all the promise of the season was fading along with the damaged plant. Knowing that there was nothing I could do, I sadly wrote the plant off and hoped for a better growing season next spring.

It was then that Papa whispered to my heart that this was the very condition of many people’s lives...just when things finally begin to fall into place...just when they began to actually reach for their dream or to walk out their calling; a storm comes and crushes their dreams and what had once been brimming with promise now lay shattered on the ground. Ever been there? I have. So what are we to do when life’s circumstances subdue the tender hope that we have long held onto? Where can we turn when the contrary winds beat upon our cherished dreams?

I firmly believe that in those difficult moments our heavenly Papa is calling us to lay our dashed hopes and broken branches in the hands of the Master Gardener who alone is the Keeper of our growing seasons. For as I have shared before He is not only the ultimate time keeper…He is the sole Keeper of Time itself. He alone can be trusted with every circumstance and every season of our lives! And let us not forget that each storm that finds its way into our unsuspecting hearts, always get filtered through His loving hands first…so if in His wisdom He allows the storm, we can be certain that He has a plan to see us through it! So although the promise filled branch lies broken in our hands, with God, the story isn’t over! With Papa, the best is ALWAYS yet to be…even when we cannot envision it!

 But instead of looking toward what lies ahead, sometimes in these situations we continue to carry around the ruined branch in our hands, using our days to lament its destruction and yet often more remains than was snatched away…but we need to choose to focus more on what still persists than on what has been lost! And once we decide to turn our attention from what was lost to what continues, then we can choose to begin growing again!

Perhaps the unexpected storm came at the cusp of our season or maybe it arrived late in the season of our tenure, but no matter, beginning, end or somewhere in between, there is always sufficient time in the Master Gardener’s all knowing hands to cultivate growth in us again. Just know for certain precious one, that the storm that is battering your life did not catch Him unaware and He is not wringing His hands in worry; no, He has a plan...a plan for you...a plan for your future...a plan for growth...a plan to harvest glory for His name through your storm damaged life! And His perfect plan always includes new growth, new hope and new and better ways to blossom for Him! Just like this damaged plant moved on from the shock of its serious loss, to grow again that spring, which thankfully now without fail has continued to fill my garden with dinner plate-sized flowers!

What about us? Will our life look different than before the storm? Of course, but change (even painful change) can usher in beauty that before now we could never have imagined! Sometimes we must choose to close the door on one hope so that a new hope can spring up in its place, knowing that the One who jealously watches over our lives always brings what is for our eventual (and eternal) good…but we must choose to trust Him and allow Him the time to reveal a new facet of His plan and to herald a lasting hope that comes to us-for always what the storm has taken He can replace, what the storm has shattered He can repair and what the storm has devastated He can restore...always!

Papa, our hope and our future lie safely within Your powerful hands…help us to clearly see that. Please help us to recognize Your abiding presence when our dreams have been crushed and our long held hope has been snatched away. Remind us Papa that Your plan for us include a shining hope that no circumstance can touch and a bright future that no contrary wind can destroy. Holy Father, Romans 15:13 promises us that You are the God of hope who will fill us with all joy and peace so that we can overflow with hope…but this only comes as we trust in You…so strengthen us to trust in You and in Your eternal plan even though much of what we have held dear has been stripped away. We love you and believe that even now You are bringing a new hope to us, one that will foster new growth, that will in turn bring a greater level of fruitfulness and joy to our lives. Thank You Father, You truly do all things well!