What does Hope mean to you?

Many of us throw the word hope around very casually these days. You may say, "I hope I get that promotion." Or, "I hope there's nice weather this weekend." But what if it were more like, "I hope I can feed my kids tonight." Or, "I hope they don't turn off the power in my home." I've learned this weekend that hope can mean very different things to different people. In fact, to many people out there, hope may mean survival.

I had the privilege of serving yesterday at Convoy of Hope in downtown Raleigh. I, along with 1,000 other volunteers from 65 church's in the Triangle served over 5,000 hurting men, women and children. We loved on them for over five hours during a hot Saturday. Volunteers provided free medical and dental care, kids activities, lunch, haircuts, job resources, prayer and support and groceries. I served in the grocery area, the last area that our special guests passed through before leaving for the day. I had the awesome job of just loving and encouraging people as they left. I gave more hugs and hand shakes than I could count. I looked into the eyes of these beautiful people and saw the deep appreciation for what they had received. Most of all, I was able to love them like God loves them. I was reminded several times during the day of the Brandon Heath song "Give me your eyes", especially the chorus:

Give me your eyes for just one second 

Give me your eyes so I can see 

Everything that I keep missing 

Give me your love for humanity 

Give me your arms for the broken hearted 

Ones that are far beyond my reach. 

Give me your heart for the ones forgotten 

Give me your eyes so I can see

Serving yesterday was an incredibly humbling experience. It was a reminder to me of my need to serve others as a way of serving God. It was a priority check. A check of my time, of my resources, of my heart. I'm so grateful that God and the holy spirit gives us these reminders. I'm so glad that I was willing to listen.