Abounding in Hope

The washer spins and stops.  Perturbed, I mash the on button once again... the fourth time today.  The clothes sopping in suds and clothes piled high on deck to be washed.  Household things breaking... it's enough to send this woman mad.  It's one of my faults, my husband says: to look at things as impossibilities instead of making it a possibility.  And it's an amazing ability my husband has: nothing is impossible; everything can be fixed with the right application of force and determination.  I love him for it.  And here I am... my washer breaks and life as I know it has come to an end.  My husband was out of town, so I took matters into my own hands, for once.  I googled and you tubed, and drained nearly 3 gallons of backed up, smelly water from a stopped up filter.  Yes! I did it! I wash the towels I just dirtied, proud of my excellent work.  The washer still wasn't fixed.  Pause after pause, it just didn't want to run through a full cycle.  So here, I could take two different turns.... I could dismay over an annoying, semi-broken washer or I could turn my thoughts toward a solution.  What's the worst that could happen?  I end up washing my clothes in the tub and taking them down to my working dryer (which I'm so thankful works like a charm!).  NOT a big deal.  My point?  My mind is weak.  I tend toward laziness and quick fixes despite my OCD perfectionism.  It's easy to just let my mind go to its natural state of complaining over this or that.  It's strength of mind that looks at a solution instead of dwelling on the problem.  New Year's resolution, perhaps?  Training my mind, taking EVERY thought captive, striving to hope... as I read in Romans 15 today.... May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. I want to be a hopeful person.  It's different.  It's strength.  It produces peace and joy!

So I pray... to overcome the stress of broken things and procrastination, knowing that God's grace is new every moment.  I pray about my broken washer because I have the hope of Christ and know that I don't have the power to fix everything in my life.  I pray about the bill that needs to be taken care of because I know He provides strength to those who ask.  Training my mind to take my knees to the floor first... because that's where the hope can be found.