5 Days From Resilient Hope by Christine CaineUzorak

HOP ON ANOTHER RIDE

When our girls were still young, we were so excited when someone gave us Australians a family trip to Disneyland. My girls were so excited to meet Mickey and Minnie, but secretly, I was most excited about all the rides. Sophia and I were hopping from one ride to another in Fantasyland when we boarded Peter Pan’s Flight teeming with excitement to see Neverland. But as soon as we set sail, our fantasy came to an abrupt halt. The ride had broken, and the emergency lighting came on.

Instead of seeing all that we were supposed to see—the Lost Boys battle Captain Hook, the fairies, and the infamous crocodile—we saw all that we were not supposed to see. I was utterly disappointed! My pixie-dust dreams had been shattered, so much so that Sophia looked at me and said, “It’s okay, Mummy. These things happen. Can we go on the Alice in Wonderland ride now?”

I totally understand if you are laughing at me. Even writing this, it sounds ridiculous, but I really was disappointed. As I numbly got off the ride, all my expectations of a hopeful adventure began to wane. And, quite literally, for the longest time, Disneyland didn’t hold the magic it once had.

I know my story may sound silly, but what’s not so silly is the life lesson I learned from Sophia. We both had the exact same experience but two totally different responses, and we ended up in two different places emotionally. I was stuck in a moment. She never was. I wasn’t resilient, but Sophia was. She bounced right back.

I know the true disappointments in our lives are much bigger and far more sobering. I don’t have all the answers for why gut-wrenching heartache happens to us. Still, I know from my own experiences that if we are going to fulfill our purposes in this earth and stay hopeful and on mission, we must accept that some things will break down along the way.

The ride may come to a surprising stop.

Dim emergency lighting may be all we have to light our way through a dark season.

But we can’t let it cause us to remain stuck. To keep enduring, to keep moving forward, we have to learn how to manage our disappointments well, so we can hop on another ride full of renewed hope. Otherwise, we’ll miss all the adventure God has for us.

Do you feel stuck in a moment? Do you want to get unstuck? Risk putting your hopes and dreams and trust in God once more. When you do, He promises faithful love and redemption in abundance.

Heavenly Father, I want to move forward. I want to get unstuck, so I put my hope in You once more. I trust You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Learn more about Resilient Hope at www.ResilientHopeBook.com