We just finished a five week summer Bible study here on Holding on to Hope When Life Is Hard. Sometimes the best way to hold on to hope is to offer it to someone else. To take your eyes off your own circumstances, your own problems — and do something to help somebody else with theirs.
Too often we focus on all the things that are wrong with this world, all the things that are wrong in our own lives or the lives of those we love, all the things we can’t change or fix….
Instead of seeing “the beauty that remains”… the glimmers of hope, the splashes of joy, the waves of love and peace.
The possibilities.
The little things that, done in His name, can make a big difference.
Maybe not a big difference in the grand scheme of things, in the sense of changing history. But changing the story of this person’s life or that person’s life. Their family’s history. And who knows what the impact might ultimately be, in eternity?
Helping someone else helps you to remember that life is more than pain and heartache and misery. God is good, and we are His family, and together we love one another and help one another and stick together and discover that even in all its brokenness – even in all our brokenness — life can be beautiful.
This is what has helped me.
ViBella. It means “Beautiful Life” and each handmade piece tells a beautiful story of redemption.
My friends at ViBella Jewelry created their company to give hope to others – to make a difference in the lives of more than thirty moms in Haiti and Mexico. These moms make jewelry and bags and all kinds of beautiful things which help them to support their families.
Moms like Joanne, who has been an artisan with Vi Bella since 2011.
You can be part of an ongoing story of hope and healing for those in extreme poverty. Whether you choose to WEAR the beautiful story, JOIN the beautiful story as an ambassador, or link arms with us by hosting a fundraiser, all partnerships empower artisans and communities to live more beautiful lives.
Giveaway!
Today (SEE UPDATE) we have a special giveaway from ViBella: the Maguy Messenger Bag! Perfect for back to school, library books, or to use as a really cute purse!
To enter the giveaway, please share this blog post on social media — for instance, on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest — to let others know about the wonderful work of ViBella, and then come back here and comment below to let me know where you shared it. (The simplest way to share is to click one of the sharing buttons you see at the beginning and end of the post.)
On Friday at noon Eastern time, I’ll draw a name and contact you for your mailing address if you are the winner!
UPDATE: I put all the names in a hat, and we have a winner: Rebecca T! Congrats, Rebecca! I’ll be emailing you for your contact info and ViBella will send you your beautiful new bag! Thank you, everyone, for participating! If you didn’t win this time, you might want to follow the ViBella Facebook page — they do a lot of giveaways and you can find out about them there.
Also visit the ViBella store to check out their beautiful selection of jewelry and other handmade goods, and learn more about their ministry. Or watch this brief video:
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