Life Stories are Hope Stories

I was trying to decide how to present my writing about hope when I happened upon the TV show “Tribal Trails”. A young woman, whose name I missed, was talking about how they take their life stories to the youth of reservations in Canada and the USA. She called them “Hope Stories.”

“Hope Stories” Yes! Life stories are hope stories.

When we share what we’ve gone through. When we share what we have learned. When we shared how we've survived. These are hope stories for another.

Many times we hesitate to share them because we are afraid of what someone will think. More often than not people are encouraged when we share. Things in our story may resonate with them. They no longer feel so alone. They hear something that may help them to move forward. They are encouraged.

I remember when I first went to a healing group here in my hometown. It was scary to walk in and to identify myself as one of them. But in the end it was liberating. It was freeing to hear others share their stories because I recognized myself in them. This lifted the feeling of isolation and shame. Others had been there. Others felt the same thing given the same situation. I was no longer alone.

One of the life stories that gave me the greatest hope while I was healing was Jesus’. I held on to the verse that said, “For the joy set before Him He endured the shame of the cross.” He endured shame.

There were stages of my healing that were incredibly messy. Extremely humbling…I’d probably even say humiliating. Times where there was much room to be misunderstood and I was misunderstood. I knew though that if I wanted to get well, emotionally and spiritually, I had to go ‘there’. I knew that ‘joy comes in the morning'.’ It might be dark for awhile. It might get confusing. But I had to persevere.

I held onto Jesus, my hope and my salvation. He endured the shame, a much greater shame than anything that I was experiencing, so I could too.

I also gained hope from the written stories of others who had gone through similar things as I had. I’m very glad that they shared their stories so that in hearing them mine could be ‘normalized.’ It gave me understanding and knowledge that helped me believe that I could make it through. Their stories were hope stories.

After awhile, once I was strong enough emotionally and spiritually, I began to share my story with others. To share about our deepest wounds too soon can be counterproductive so I was careful who I shared with initially. Then the audience became larger and larger. Today, the basics of my story are up on the world wide web.

The basics are on the web because I currently contract my services to a website where all of us working at this site share a bit of our story. The individuals who come to us for coaching/counselling feel hope when they see that we’ve been there. If we’ve come through it then there is the hope that they will as well. I confess that I felt quite vulnerable at the thought of having it there for all to see. But it is part of who I am. It is part of what makes me me. And if my story can give others hope then I am willing to share it where it is needed.

Occasionally, someone who feels no hope comes to me. They don’t believe that they will ever get past whatever it is that is holding them back, or that they will never heal from the depression that currently has them in it’s grip. I ask them if I can lend them my hope until they find their own. If they say yes then I share this poem with them:

BORROWED HOPE

Lend me your hope for awhile.

I seem to have mislaid mine.

Lost and hopeless feelings accompany me daily.

Pain and confusion are my companions.

I know not where to turn.

Looking ahead to the future times

does not bring forth images of

renewed hope.

I see mirthless times, pain

filled days,

and more tragedy.

Lend me your hope for awhile,

I seem to have mislaid mine.

Hold my hand and hug me;

listen to all my ramblings.

I need to unleash the pain and let it tumble out.

Recovery seems so far

distant;

the road to healing a long and lonely one.

Stand by me; offer me your presence.

Your ears and your love

acknowledge my pain. It is so real and ever present.

I am overwhelmed with sad and conflicting thoughts.

Lend me your hope for awhile,

A time

will come when I will heal

and I will lend my renewed hope to others.

Eloise Cole

Life Stories are Hope Stories. I’m thankful for the stories that are shared in the Bible. I’m glad for those who shared their stories during my healing. Whenever appropriate and with appropriate detail I will share my Life Story to bring hope to those who are open to hearing. I hope you will too. You never know who needs to hear exactly what you have to share.

I Fall Down, I Get Up...

I’ve been letting you in on the good parts of my Daniel Fast journey. Now I also want to confess the struggles.

All day yesterday and first thing this morning I was feeling weak in this fast thing…I felt like tossing it…I cheated on the eating…I was trying not to but I was giving in to the doubting thoughts which had crept into my mind. I didn’t know where those thoughts were coming from.

Driving to McD's to get breakfast early this morning (I told you I cheated…hehe) I was thinking about these thoughts of quitting…knowing I didn’t really want to…and all the while singing :

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong...


As I prayed my confused prayers, as I sang…and yes, as I ate my McD’s breakfast (which didn’t taste nearly as good as I’d imagined) I started to realize a few things.

The Daniel Fast is about petitioning God for specific things. I’ve asked Him for something very specific that’s been an albatross since my youth. It hinders me at times not only in my personal life but in my ministry for Him. I’ve not been able to breakthrough on my own in the 50ish years that it has been there. It’s a biggie.

All of a sudden I realized that my niggling thoughts of quitting, of hopelessness, of not trusting that even God could break through, started when I saw the definition of a word which spoke directly to the petition that is before the LORD at this time. These thoughts were strengthened when, around the same time, I saw a photo on someone’s blog which triggered memories of where I first got stuck with this issue. Two triggers…that stayed in the shadows until I chose to acknowledge them for what they were this morning. I realize now that the timing of these triggers were from the LORD, that they are getting me to go to the root of this issue that I am asking His help for.

This morning, I put it all down in writing in my journal, I confessed my doubts, I acknowledged my fear, and I let Him take my hand in His once again. In the midst of it all, I was able to be gracious with myself in my slip. Instead of getting into ‘all or nothing’ thinking, instead of seeing my fast as a failure now, I saw it for what it was, forgave myself…and I’m back on track.

I don’t know how God will answer my petition. I can relate to Sarah of Old Testament fame. She waited for years for God to answer her plea for a child…she took things into her own hands at one point…and had pretty much given up on ever having one of her own. Lest you think that I’m pining for a child, let me be quick to assure you that my petition isn’t the same as hers. But the concept is the same. I don't know how He will answer...or when...but I am going to choose to trust Him, to trust that even though I’ve not been able to break through in all these years…He can and will…in His time…in His way.

Psalm 27: 14 Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.

He Comes to Me Singing.

Songs. He often speaks to me in songs. Ministers to me in songs. And I love it!!

I first remember getting exactly the right song at the right time with words that ministered to me when I was a teenager. My friend Jeanette and I were out in a field, perhaps picking strawberries as a summer job. She and I were having a serious discussion about something. When I went to the ‘john’ aka ‘outhouse’ the LORD gave me a song that spoke directly to what the issue was. I recall talking to her about this as soon as I got back to my row. I was excited that I had heard from Him in this way.

Sometimes the song is asking a question, like when I went on a silent retreat a number of years ago. He sang Anne Murray’s, “Can I have this dance for the rest of my life, would you be my partner every night?” I won’t go into the details of how that set the tone for my retreat but it did.

This past week I awoke at least three nights with a song in my heart that was speaking precisely to the questions/thoughts in my heart at that moment. One song I really couldn’t remember the words to, just the concept. It was one that I was surprised to have in my head. So I journaled all my thoughts and afterwards I looked up the lyrics. It choked me up a little when I saw that the first two lines were almost verbatim what I had just expressed in my journal. And the refrain reminded my spirit of a change in focus.

There is another song that came one morning which has remained with me on a daily, hourly basis. God is teaching me to ask continually for more grace. So the song I’m singing daily is:

‘He giveth more grace…He giveth and giveth and giveth again…'

Aside from His Word, the Bible, is there a special way in which He speaks to you?