Hope in Hard Times
This week I’m so excited to introduce you to my dear friend, Sarah Geringer! She is a talented writer and we share a deep desire to share the peace of God that passes understanding with as many people as possible. You are going to love her transparent and authentic look at life. If you are encouraged by her words, be sure to leave a comment and let her know! You can check out her website and books here.
I have to admit: hope hasn’t always come easily for me.
I have several hope-defeating tendencies. For starters, I’m naturally one of those glass-half-empty people. It’s easier for me to see the downside than the upside most days.
For most of my childhood and adolescence, I also struggled with passivity and fear. This didn’t help during decades of toxic relationships. Hope was hard to come by when I was in emotional survival mode.
Even though I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember, the concept of holding onto hope is rather new to me. Through adversity in my marriage, God taught me that holding on to hope was not only possible, it was essential.
When my husband and I endured a separation two years ago, my worst fears came to life. He and I both came from divorced homes and we both had huge holes in our hearts that had never healed. Our problems spun out of control after fifteen years of marriage. On the night he left, I had nothing else to hold onto except my faith and the faintest glimmer of hope.
Hope is future-oriented. It’s faith-based. It’s the belief that God will fulfill his promises, and better days are ahead.
Since our marriage had hit rock bottom, I had nowhere to look but upward. When I looked up to God, I felt hope wash over me. It felt freeing and powerful. That supernatural hope inspired me to look for better days ahead.
Hope unshackled me from my long-held fears of abandonment. I realized that no matter what happened in our marriage, God would be with me. He would protect me, provide for me, and never leave me alone. I leaned into hope during our separation, and it powered me through the pain.
My husband and I reconciled in May 2015. Since that time, God has shown me how to hold onto hope no matter what I’m facing.
God taught me how to put on a new mindset. I have trained my naturally melancholy mind to choose a hopeful path. I meditate on scriptures and put Philippians 4:7 NLT into practice: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
I also dream with God in prayer. When I was imprisoned by the fear of abandonment, I was afraid to look into the future because I feared all my loved ones would leave me. God gently helped me work through my fears, and he taught me how to envision a future based on hope. I began dreaming a future with my husband, children, grandchildren, and many friends, days full of life and love and hope.
Hope is my new normal. Sometimes I still face fears about what the future holds. But I no longer feel trapped in hopeless thinking. God has granted me hope in hard times, and it now lifts me up and powers me through days to come.
Sarah Geringer is the author of three self-published books and blogs regularly at sarahgeringer.com. She loves writing in the morning, reading in the afternoon, and enjoying family time in the evening. Sarah lives in her beloved home state of Missouri with her husband and three children.
Follow Sarah on social media:
Facebook || Twitter || Pinterest || Goodreads
Page with Comments
Comments are closed.
Thanks for hosting me today, Micah. I am honored!
Sarah, thank you for sharing your story and your heartfelt words. You are a blessing to many! Hugs! It was an honor to have you! Looking forward to the next time!
This is a beautiful concept: “I also dream with God in prayer.” I can dip into hopelessness pretty quickly, but thankfully I don’t tend to linger there. But this is still an area that I need to continually work on. Thanks for sharing, Sarah. We all need reasons to hope!
Hi Lisa! Giving my dreams to God has been a creative way to gain new hope. I’m praying you can get yourself out of the hopelessness pit by dreaming with God. Blessings to you!
Sarah, this is a beautiful testimony, a beautiful picture of how hope and looking to Jesus can pull us through. Thank you for sharing this! Micah, thank you!
Leslie, thanks for your kind comment. God is the author of all the beautiful stories in my life, like this one. Can’t wait to meet you in less than two weeks!
Hi Sarah! Thanks for sharing so encouraging post. So blessed to read your story of Hope. In hard times we learn that hope is not only possible but it’s essential too.. God bless you! Stopping by from # Sitting among friends link up.
Hello Elizabeth! I’m glad you stopped by to read my guest post here. Blessings to you too!
I love this idea of dreaming with God in prayer. What a beautiful way to think about nurturing hope.
Hello Debbie. I hope my idea inspires new ways for you to find hope with God!
This is so encouraging, Sarah. I’m glad you and your husband were able to work things out, and especially that God used this hard season to nurture your faith and trust in Him. :-)
Hello Lois, I’m so thankful that God led us through that hard season and now gives us both greater hope for our marriage. Blessings to you!
What a powerful message, Sarah! Thank you for sharing part of your story with us and encouraging us to hold on to hope.
Hi Charlie. I’m hoping to share bits and pieces of my story when I come to speak at your church. Pinching myself, so excited!
I am, too!
Sarah – Thank you for your vulnerability in sharing your heart. Isn’t it amazing how sometimes It takes getting to the bottom to truly trust and put our hope in God. I too have been there. Until God allowed me to be in that place did I discover just how deep a relationship I could have with God. Funny I thought God and I were tight before. Thank you for sharing. Maree
Hello Maree, your vulnerability always inspires me when I read your blog. I agree, the hard times have a way of drawing us even closer than before to our loving Father. Blessings to you!
“Hope is my new normal.” Beautiful, friend. Sweet testament to the healing power of the One who graces us with hope and peace. He’s breaking down strongholds of fear in my life too, and oh how grateful I am. Thanks for sharing, Sarah (and Micah). ((hug))
Hi Brenda, thank you for commenting here. It was an honor to share my story on Micah’s blog. Can’t wait to meet you soon!
Hi Sarah, I had very little hope in my life during the 25 or the 30 years I was married. During the last 4-5 years of the marriage I cried out to God for hope, asking HIM “What does hope even look like? and How do I find it?”
I have been divorced for 6 years now. God gave me hope again. Hope is Jesus in my life. Hope is having my Abba Father holding my right hand as I walk this road I never dreamed I would have to walk. Hope is looking back and seeing all the times that my Abba Father brought me through to the other side.
Thank you for being willing to share a piece of your journey.
I have a very hard time dreaming. Disappointment has knocked me down so many times that I don’t want to dream because I don’t want to feel disappointed. This issues also messes with me setting goals for my life…even as simple as ‘walking for 30 minutes every day’. This needs to change and change soon!
What you wrote about dreaming and what you felt God laid on your heart to dream a future with your husband, children, etc. this spoke to me. It is time to dream again…