There are some moments in life that feel so final, so unending that hope is hard to find. But it's from the darkest place that Jeremiah declared these words that bring us so much comfort today. His words of hope aren't flippant, Pollyanna declarations, they're gritty, battle-worn, bruised words that he reaches into the depths of his soul to declare. And they remind us that even here, especially here, we too can have hope, no matter how far gone our circumstance seems.
I end today's episode with a big ask. Imogen’s first birthday would be on June 14th. We don’t get to celebrate her here on earth quite the way we’d like, so I’m asking for your help to make that day meaningful and special. If your life has been impacted in any way by Imogen’s life and legacy, would you send me a note? I’m collecting all these messages to read on her birthday to honor her life, as short as it was. You can email your notes directly to happybirthdayimogen@gmail.com by June 12th.
Thank you so much!
LINKS FROM THIS WEEK’S EPISODE
Scratch Your Travels map we made to document Imogen’s adventures.
Intro/Outro Music: Fighting Words by Ellie Holcomb
TEMPLATE
QUOTES
“He [Jeremiah] has to fight for his hope.”
“Those verses we sing and post all over Instagram, they aren’t flippant, Pollyanna words of hope. They’re gritty, battle-worn, bruised words that Jeremiah reaches into the depths of his soul to pull to the surface and declare.”
“In the darkest moments of his life, Jeremiah remembered who God was - he looked to the past and saw God’s faithfulness, his words remind us of how God provided manna for his people every single day in the wilderness.”
“He trusted that God who had always been faithful, would continue to be faithful now - and that belief filled him with hope.”
“Nothing about our circumstance has to change for us to find hope. It’s not found when this waiting season ends or when our prayers are answered yes. It’s not tied to fairytale happy endings, a winning season, or victories in battle.”
“Jeremiah found it in the ruins of a city, in the ashes of defeat, with smoke still swirling around his head. I found it in a hospital room in Atlanta when our daughter’s heart never started beating again.”
You can find it in crowded houses quarantined at home, while you’re longing for a husband in ways you can’t even put into words, when you’re crying out to God to heal the child you’ve loved every day of their lives, when the pain is so great you think you’ll surely be consumed, when life isn’t terribly hard but it isn’t terribly good either and you’re wondering if it will always be this way.”