Hope and Faith!
Recently, A friend was explaining to me a brief anecdote about a sledding debacle at her family farm. Her two granddaughters were out back sledding down the hill, across a frozen pond, and up the opposite slope as a deceleration slope. She could tell they were having fun, and she was about to head out and join them when all of a sudden, the following scenario played out.
The first granddaughter, Hope, was heading up the deceleration slope after a nice fast run, and her sister Faith, was coming right behind her. Due to a timing miscalculation (or maybe a little mischief!), Faith did not wait long enough before heading down the slope – and just so happened to end up in the exact same spot coming up the opposite slope that her sister was coming down.
You guessed it. As Hope came drifting down. Grace was ramping up! Thump (or whatever sound two inner-tubes make crashing on a snowy slope!).
After making sure everyone was alright, it was a good laugh. Anecdotally, here’s the punch line I used for a sermon illustration:
If hope is coming down, it just needs a little faith to bump it back up!
In case that doesn’t sound right, remember, faith isn’t blind-belief; it’s trusting God to do what He has said He will do, and what He has demonstrated he is faithful to do many times before. Next time you’re bumped off your inner-tube, remember that – and get right back on it!
Be blessed out there!
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