Valley of Hope

So I look forward to Wednesday nights...I love them. I look forward to the craziness with much anticipation. Wednesday nights, Emily and I get to open up her house to at least 10, most times more, crazy women. We are going through the book Captivating, and if you've never read it, read it! It has some fabulous things to say about the female gender..which always proves for some very interesting conversations. This week we did Lectio Divina with Hosea 2:14-16, 19-20. Such a great picture of how the Lord loves his children.


Its this very topic that I've been pondering over the last several days. Trying to find the answer to a question that's been spinning in my brain for awhile. I know the Lord loves me, but how does he love me? Hosea provides some insight..and the phrase that stood out to me was "turning the valley of Trouble into a valley of Hope". I think the Lord captivates and allures each of us differently because he alone knows how we are going to respond. And that's whats so amazing. Things that touch my heart might not even phase the person sitting next to me. The valley of Hope...such a crazy phrase of contractions. How can one be in a valley, but still there be hope? I think of all the valleys in my life and just remember the feeling of hopelessness that accompanied each of them. This valley that I'm in right now..so different than the rest. This time I've been told to hope, to cling to the hope, to look for the hope, and I have found it. It's there if you look for it, and it comes in many different forms.


And I think that's one of the ways the Lord loves me. One word...Hope.