Sometimes it’s hard to explain hope—just what is hope, anyway? The cutest illustration of hope I’ve found is about a little boy who was standing at the foot of the escalator in a big department store, intently watching the handrail. He never took his eyes off the handrail as the escalator kept going around and around. A salesperson saw him and finally asked him if he was lost. The little fellow replied, “Nope. I’m just waiting for my chewing gum to come back.”If your face is in the dust, if you are in a wringer situation, be like the little boy waiting for his chewing gum to come back. Stand firm, be patient, and trust God. Then get busy with your life . . . there is work to do.I like the note one mother sent me that simply said:Dear Barb (and Gopher Bill): Like the sundial, this year I am only going to count the sunny hours! I don’t know where we are—I don’t need to know. It’s all in His hands. How much safer could it be?Her words remind me that nothing touches me that has not passed through the hands of my heavenly Father, NOTHING. Whatever occurs, God has sovereignly surveyed and approved. We may not know why (we may never know why), but we do know our pain is no accident to Him who guides our lives. He is, in no way, surprised by it all. Before it ever touches us, it passes through Him.*17\316\2*

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