I put the tagline ‘hope grows here’ at the top of my blog. I thought maybe if I did, I would live up to it.

Recently, the Lord has been impressing upon me the nature of hope. He’s been gently, yet firmly, calling me deeper into it. He’s been telling me that this is how He wants me to walk this road. This is how He wants me to journey Home.

Hope is a word that’s thrown around a lot. It’s something that’s both profound and complex. And, as with all things that are worth knowing, it involves a process which will last until we arrive on eternity’s shore.

It also takes a good deal of reflection to be able to exercise a greater and greater hope. I’ve been telling the Lord ‘my strength is weak, and my arms and legs are weary, I don’t know if I can find a deeper, fuller hope.’

This was when He reminded me of this passage I had memorized a few years ago:

“Now hope that is seen is not hope

For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Romans 8:24b-25

Hope is hungry within us. It is looking for the bigger trust. It is desirous of more of our heart. It wants to stretch our vision, increase our dreams. It is relentless to overwhelm us until all of us points towards it. It is our ultimate hope, our greatest treasure, which is found in the arms of Jesus. It is He who wants us, who wants our everything.

As I sat with the Lord and gave my weakness and weariness to Him, he took me on a bit of a slideshow. The pictures could be narrated like this:

‘Do you remember the days when your heart was broken in two. You didn’t know if you would ever find a man to love who would love you back? Now you are in a relationship 16 plus years, which is so full of love and growing deeper.’

‘Remember when your mother was dying and you lacked the strength to walk to the end? I gave you a peace which surpasses understanding, and an impenetrable hope to carry you until you are with her again.’

‘Remember when you were unsure if I would answer your prayer for children? Yet, here you are with three beautiful ones who fill your life with love, laughter and yes, challenge, so you can trust Me more ;)’

‘Remember when you woke up in the ICU, all of your life in devastating shambles? All of your dreams disintegrating before your eyes? A diagnosis upon you which felt like a noose? I restored your ultimate hope as your husband read the psalms. I also brought the hope of your wholeness and a full life, making it stronger each day.’

Hope pushes into the eternal. It’s the impossible made possible. It’s the kingdom of God come to earth. It’s a call to press into the character of God and learn to dream His dreams. It’s the invitation to partner with Him in a way which consumes our very soul. It’s allowing ourselves to be blown away by His goodness. It’s becoming an agent of this hope in a broken, despairing world.

Hope is not easy. I hope you hear me saying this. But what journey worth making is easy? Yet, what beauty hope creates if we are willing to build our lives on it.

For a few months, God has been impressing upon me the image of a tree as it pertains to my life. It’s tall in stature and broad in width. There are many branches which make it full. There is a complex root system and a mighty trunk. It’s a tree of hope–my tree of hope. As I allow my hope to grow, God does his magic. He replaces those diseased roots of doubt, weakness, poverty and unbelief with healthy roots of strength, promise and great hope woven through them all. He also removes the diseased branches, miraculously growing healthy ones in their place. He gives the trunk greater health as the nutrients from the roots flow to the branches.

This tree of hope, the Lord has said, is not for me alone. Ultimately, it is for His Glory (Isaiah 61:3). It is also meant to provide shelter and nourishment for many. In turn, other trees spring up, and those that already are, become more healthy.

It’s a humbling thing to be called to such a hope. But when I (or you) embrace it, the perspective of our entire life is changed.

It was three and a half years when I was hospitalized for bipolar disorder. It was my descent into a literal hell. It was such a deeply painful experience, I had little to no hope for who I would be on the other side of it. Yet, day by day, bit by bit, God took the tiniest seed of hope and planted this mighty tree. He gave me hope enough to really, truly believe Him for great things in this life.

Now I look at the trauma of my initial diagnosis, and its fallout, as creating space for hope to grow. I see how I would not be who I am today without these great challenges. Does it sound clique? I hope not. If you could see inside my soul, the scars and unhealed wounds tell the truth. No, the hope I have, is 100 percent, full-on proof of the faithful love of God.

I want to invite you, friend, into this garden of hope. It’s a verdant, miraculous place. It’s the place where you learn to partner with God in bringing about His goodness. It’s the wonder-working power which will change you forever.