Hope is the Light

Hope is the light that shines in the darkness. When everything else seems to have taken a turn from bad to worse, hope remains. Without it, we would live in the darkness for all time.

Last night I received the news that my son's girlfriend was in a terrible car accident. In the ICU with broken, well everything, possible lung puncture, head injuries. The unknown and uncertain swirled as I listened to my panicked son relay what details he knew. Her blood pressure was off and she couldn't have pain medication and all she kept asking for was him.

When he was finally able to get to her, she was frightened and in a world of despair. She had no memory of what had happened but knew she was in a bad place. I told him how he needed to comfort her and help settle her heart and mind. He needed to be the calm to the noise that was overcoming her senses.

And I thought this for my son....talk to her. Remind her of hope. Remind her of tomorrow. Encourage her to focus her attention on the light, to move her eyes away from impending darkness. There is no doubt the road to recovery ahead of her is going to be long and possibly painful. But the road has not ended. A new day will dawn and with each new day is a new wellspring of hope. Hope for things to not be as bad. Hope for there to be the necessary tools to put what is broken back together. Hope that physical therapy will be a time of encouragement and inspiration for all that she can and will do. Because hope doesn't live in the darkness.

This afternoon, I learned that while many bones are broken, no surgeries are required, as originally was thought, and they will heal. The lung(s) were not punctured by the broken ribs, also as originally thought. There was no brain injury. Ultimately, she will recover fully and be able to return to the life she could have left behind on that rainy day yesterday.

My own needs today fade as I have sat and prayed for hours on end for this news and the miracle of what is as opposed to what could have been. And, she would be the first to tell you about hope and where her hope comes from...the God who loves us so much he sent us The Light of Hope. This devotional poem below is dedicated today to our sweet Londyn:

"When despair sets in,

Hope is the light that shines bright,

Smashing through darkness."