Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

Christmas gifts are tucked away, memories are made and here we are in a brand new year. As we enter a time of a new beginning, we all, undoubtedly, think about what we can do to make things better in our lives.

Hope seems like a good word for many of us these days. Not the “ I hope” kind of statements like “ I hope I win the lottery”, but the hope we have in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

I can remember when my mother was diagnosed with cancer, the doctor told my family that where there is life, there is hope. Anyone that is suffering from cancer, relies on the hope of answered prayers and the hope of finding a cure for this dreaded disease.

As we continue to listen to news reports from the wars in the Ukraine and Israel, we hope that God will bring peace to those people and places far away.

In our community, we pray with our hope and faith in God that our Bucktail Medical Center will continue to keep its doors open as our lifeline in this area.

These words from Romans 15:13 tell us,

“ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. Sounds like a good wish for this year.

Just like many times in our lives, we have to cling to hope, cultivate hope and trust that God has a plan. We have to remember that trials are inevitable, but our hope is in the Lord, every day of every year.