Hold on Tight to Hope

Saying goodbye to my father-in-law was hard. Though it seemed we should have been prepared as his health faltered and faded over the years, nothing could prepare us for the absence of his presence among us. During one of his last hospital stays, he requested all of his kids come to see him. We always did our best to honor him, and of course showed up. Because of COVID, we all went into the hospital one at a time, to say what we thought would surely be goodbye. He wanted us to know how proud he was of us for holding tightly to Hope. There was an apparent relief in his eyes as a result of the faith we had all placed in the Lord. He teared up when he spoke of his two grandchildren with diabetes …and he made sure he held tight to them to the very end.

Months after that visit, we were again with him for what we thought might be the last time. He looked right at my daughter, who has a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis, and said, “But life is good.” He repeated it over and over until she acknowledged what he was saying. A few days later, she had a bad diabetes day, as we call them. “Grandpa says life is good,” she said, “but this is so hard.”

“It’s good and hard,” I told her, “it’s both.”

Hold tight to Hope. Hold tight to each other. Life is hard, but it is oh, so good, too. Let us aim to obey the author of Hebrews, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). The day is drawing near. When it is, no one knows. But, “God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23b). He is holding on tight to us.

God Bless, and Glory Up.

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Photo credit: Unsplash/Hian Oliveira

Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.