“In the fingerprints of a God who sent His only Son to suffer, die, and rise again is where hope was birthed and wholeness was made possible.” ~ Jennifer Kostick
Today I’ve invited my sweet friend Jennifer Kostick to share some words of encouragement with you — words of hope! Nothing to Hold But Hope is Jennifer’s newest book, in which she shares how she held on to hope through fifteen years of secondary infertility.
After giving birth to her son, Paul, Jennifer suffered five miscarriages and the stillbirth of her daughter Courtney, before having twins Samuel and Grace. She writes about her journey with an honesty, a transparency and vulnerability that is deeply moving.
Here she explains a little of what she’s learned about hope:
Hope: it’s like the wind that carries us. We can’t see it, yet it pushes us ahead. We put one foot in front of the other through hurt, pain, fear, and anxiety. Why? Because hope turns scared into sacred, and whispers the promise of new mercy in the morning. Hope breathes the promise of whole.
We all want to be whole.
But here’s the thing: being whole doesn’t mean we won’t have scars. It doesn’t mean we won’t come out of a wrestling match with God or the struggles of life unscathed. We might walk away with a limp like Jacob (see Genesis 32). However, I promise you this: if you learn to trust the Lord of heaven and earth through the process, the limp will give Him glory and make you whole.
Wholeness comes from first being broken, and hope comes from giving Christ glory through it. The victory is worth every battle we fight. His mending of the broken is better than having stayed unmarked from the beginning.
It is possible to find hope and joy in the midst of the struggle for survival. I know it is, because I’ve been there.
I’ve been on the battleground of life, wrestling with painful circumstances and with the God who gave everything for me. I’ve even fought myself along the way, because I couldn’t make sense of anything happening around me.
And then I learned it isn’t my job to make sense of everything.
It is my job to trust God, to surrender to Him, to give Him my burdens, and to allow hope to rise from a Savior who gave His life in exchange for mine.
I wouldn’t trade those moments on the battlefield. Each one carefully constructed the person I am today. Each one has aided in the process of making me whole.
No matter what you are facing, you can be whole too. The scars you carry and the limp you walk with are part of the process. They are part of learning to let fear die and hope rise.
Allow the hope of wholeness to carry you today. Allow Jesus to pick you up where you are and give you peace. Allow your life to shout His glory.
You can do this! I know you can because you are loved and you are brave.
In Jesus’ name, you will be whole again!
J
ennifer Kostick is A Girl on the Doorstep. She’s a wife, mother, and writer with a heart after Jesus. She’s also the founder of the Mercy Retreat held September 5-7 at the Antiochan Village Conference Center, just outside of Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
From Christin: I’m honored to be one of the keynote speakers at the inaugural Mercy Retreat! If you’re in the area, we’d love to have you join us! Rooms are sold out, but day passes for the conference are still available…
