By Renee

As a social worker working with homeless families, I can say that hope is a word that does not exist in the vocabulary of the majority of the families I work with. Granted, these families may have just cause to feel hopeless. They are without shelter, security, a place to just brush their teeth and do life. They may be struggling with domestic violence, disability, foreclosure and a myriad of hopeless situations. I often ask myself, "What can I possibly do to turn hopelessness into hopefulness?" The answer is, I can't do anything but Christ can do everything. Hope is the anchor for our souls. I love the lyrics of the second verse to the hymn "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less:"

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Life's storms hit all of us. You don't have to be homeless to feel hopeless. So what's to be done? True and lasting change is going to happen for these homeless families and for us if we believe that God is who He says He is and can do what He says He will do. Hope comes from knowing and believing that there is a God who unconditionally loves us and is willing to make us new every morning.

I pray daily for God to use me to bring hope to the homeless families I serve. It doesn't even have to be in big ways. A smile, a comforting touch, words of affirmation-all simple yet complex in the ways they can turn hopelessness into hopefulness. If I allow His power and His promises to work through me, hope will shine bright and prevail over the pervading darkness in my small corner of the world.