The Guidance of A Brother

When I was younger there was a park we often went to and it had, what seemed to me, a huge wooden fort. It was so big, tall, and full of adventure. I would always go with my two older brothers. There were a lot of adventures had in that fort. It had three levels to it I was so proud when I made it to the second level; it was no easy feat there was a lot of climbing involved to get there. Then I discovered my oldest brother had not only made it to the Third level, but he was on the roof of the fort!! I didn't even know anyone could go that high. My other brother couldn't go that high either, but both of us wanted to. We had a lot of fun on those three levels of the fort, but it just wasn't good enough; we had to get to the absolute top!

After about a week or so my other brother made it to the top as well. Needless to say I was quite displeased. It wasn't fair that I was the only one who couldn't get to the top, not to mention the fact that I couldn't even get to level three. I never got to see how they got up there either. They were always very sneaky about it because they didn't want me to see them get up since I was small and might get hurt trying. Well that's what they told me anyway. One day I asked my oldest brother to please show me how he got up there. I used all the 'baby-sister' charms I had to convince him...and it worked! He said he would show me if I promised not to try it until I got much bigger.

I watched him climb from level three to the roof, and even though I wouldn't admit it at the time he was absolutely right... I never would have been safely able to reach the top. When he came back down he could see that I was a bit sad that I couldn't make it that far. I told him how much I wanted to go on the roof of the fort. Then my big brother looked at me and smiled. He then said "you've missed a step." I'm sure I gave him some kind of puzzled look. Then he told me, "You forgot about level three. You have to make it there before you can even worry about the top."

He was right I didn't even think about that. I still hadn't made it past the second level. My brother took my hand and led me up through the fort and showed me how to get to the next level. I was so happy that I forgot all about getting to the top. After I had become skilled at reaching all three levels I remembered my desire to reach the top. I asked my brother about it again and he told me to look at how far I had come and how much time it took to get there. He said to enjoy where I am and then he promised me that when I was big enough he would help me make it to the very top, but only when I was ready and could do it safely. I agreed and looked forward to the day when I would finally reach the top.

In life we sometimes focus too much on the bigger picture. We don't see how much we have accomplished already. I had made it to the first two levels all by myself. However I needed my big brother to help me go the next step. It was something I couldn't have done without him. In the same way Christ is there to guide us and to help us when we get stuck. We can know the way to go by following him. We also have to remember to trust him when he says no. I didn't want my brother to be right when he said I wasn't ready to go to the top, but he was. Christ knows what we should and should not do, and we can put our trust in him to take us by the hand and guide us in the right direction. He will always be there to help us to the next step when we are ready.

A Hope of More Than Things

Hope always seemed to me like a pretty loose term. I hoped for this or I would hope for that. I never really understood how wonderful hope really is until recently. Some of the best things I ever hoped for are nothing compared to the hope in Christ I have found.

I remember when I was younger I would hope for a certain toy for my birthday or for a raise in my allowance. It was fun to hope for things and to dream of how great it would be when I got whatever it was I wanted. Hope can be entertaining and exciting, but it can also be devastating when our hopes fall through. At least that is how it usually was for me when I didn't get what I was hoping for.

People often say "don't get your hopes up." I always said "why not?" It's my hope and I can do whatever I want with it. Regardless, hopes can be deflated no matter how confident I may have been in them; maybe I didn't get the doll I wanted or I didn't get a raise in my allowance like I expected.

 

There are a lot of things out in the world to hope for. A new car, a better job, the perfect birthday present etc... I've recently discovered hope for things often isn't worth it, or isn't worth the ups and downs that can come with it. I still think hoping for things is just fine, but I've discovered a deeper hope of more than just things. I've discovered a greater hope in the Lord. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can be trusted with our hopes; after all the only way they can bring them is up. We can safely 'get our hopes up' when it comes to hope in Christ...

"The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." 

                                              - Joel 3:16

The Lord has promised us that we can trust Him. We can let our hopes rest on Him; after all who better to put our hope on than the Lord? It helps me to remember the promise as stated above "the Lord will be the hope of his people."