At this point in the series "Learning From Our Pain," I would like to pause to share with you a poem that I wrote in September of 2000.  I pray that it will be a blessing and an inspiration for you.  Please share this with friends and family, if you like, and with anyone you feel would be encouraged by these words.

HOPE ETERNAL

by Bob Preston

The things that meant the most to me in the days of my youth

Mean more to me now than ever before.

As Hope springs eternal,

So hope becomes a necessary ingredient for faith and victory.

Not hoping for the ideal any more,

I hope for the goodness of God’s promise to anchor me.

The crimes and lies of society have become the accepted norm

For men and women deceived.

The hope for their salvation is no longer enough,

For Hope must extend to covenant-keeping.

Discernment should prepare us for the worst before it comes,

Before it blind sides and wounds our faith.

Yes, Hope rivets me to the throne,

Pain is God-sent for my refinement.

Only then can I become a hardened veteran, undergirded by true Faith.

Unshakable, undeniable, inviolate.

Such Faith becomes more than a shield to me;

It is the very ground of reality upon which I stand.

My face turns again heavenward to the One

Who keeps covenant amidst fire, flood and famine.

True Love springs from the heart wrenched in pieces

By damaged Hope and shattered dreams.

True Love flows freely from the life battered by the storm,

Secured by the lifeline of Faith.

Love unfettered, unconditional, and unquenchable

Breeds Peace that delves deep to the roots of our Soul.

Blessed Peace that whispers sweet and low amidst the gale

Stems the tide of fear and doubt.

Unfathomable depths of Peace feed the rains of Joy

That course over our seared lives.

Joy unspeakable and full of Glory wells up into

Voluminous, spontaneous Song.

The Joy sings to the universe the Song of the Overcomer,

For I am known by Him who overcame all for me.

And I dare to Hope again. .