I am giving my HOPE necklace to one of my sweet besties, Danna. Last week as I was picking out jewelry for an outfit, I picked out my giving keys. I knew at that moment that it was time to pass them on.
The reason behind my purchase of the HOPE necklace was simply because I loved Jeremiah 29:11, "for I know what I have planned for you, says the Lord. I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope." I mean everyone likes that verse right?! That verse would have a whole new meaning to me the night my husband of 23 years would unexpectedly walk out the door of what I thought was a very happy marriage. We had just become empty nesters, a difficult but exciting time of new found freedom. There was shock, anger, denial, and finally, with weekly counseling sessions, acceptance.
I could not even relate to my favorite verse for a while. I did feel harmed. I felt I had no future, at least not the one that we had planned. I most definitely did not feel hope. But slowly and tenderly the Lord softened my heart and gave me the eyes and ears to see Him, to hear Him, to be reminded of His promise and I believed it to be true, even in the midst of heartbreak.
The very day I decided it was time to pass on my key, was an evening at work that my sweet friend Danna and I were talking about jewelry and believe it or not, The Giving Keys! Talking jewelry and fashion is one of our favorite subjects and completely acceptable as we work in a very savvy and fashion forward salon. As we talked, she even said, “It’s time to pass them on,” laughing as she said it. It was what happened a few days later that I knew she needed hope.
While I'd bought hope because of one of my favorite bible verses, Jeremiah 29:11, it was what is said in the verses that follow it that made me realize that I would be giving this necklace to Danna. It says in Jeremiah 29:12-14, "when you call out to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, I will make myself available to you, says the Lord."
On Sunday, September 21st, Danna walked up and knelt at the alter with her girlfriends following her lead as she prayed and gave her trials and tribulations to the Lord. We prayed and cried with her and when she had left all that she could leave, we walked away knowing that our God is bigger than our sufferings and His promises will prevail. I give her this necklace as a reminder of that day, that she may feel God's promise of hope as she wears it and when she is ready she will pass it on to someone else who needs to be reminded that we have the everlasting promise of hope.
-Julie
