Pausing for Thanksgiving: Abound in Hope

Please welcome my guest, Lore Switzer:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

I was grumpy by the time we arrived at the airport. Living three days without power after an unseasonable October snowstorm, packing, and coming up with “Plan B” for kids and animals was not pleasant!

Our Charlotte flight blinked “DELAYED” at the gate. I threw back my head and groaned knowing we’d miss our connecting flight. Then, there it was ̶ “Plan C”-winking back at me. A direct flight to Raleigh-Durham ̶ and we’d arrive two hours early ̶ minus a commute.

 Picking up our rental car in a different city than the drop off? Not so easy. Paying $300 for that privilege? Unacceptable. No time for negotiations. We boarded the plane ̶ hoping for the best.

 Settling in for the ride, I opened my notes and stumbled onto this:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Believe. Believe like Jesus. Live who I am ̶ His beloved daughter filled with hope ̶ on whom his favor rests. Could this be a situation for God to prove himself mighty? I couldn’t wait to land and see all that God had in store.

Upon arrival, our airline switched our tickets showing a Raleigh departure AND waived the $300 fee due to the snow storm outages. I was more than excited. How fun to walk in God’s favor!

Oh, but there’s more…

A line of mustangs caught our attention at the car rental agency. We thought how exciting to tool around in one of those and inquired about it. Our friendly agent sympathized with our snow-storm-living-with-no-power-for-three-days-flight-delay-story, but unfortunately the mustang rental was substantially more than the subcompact. So we smiled and said, “Thanks anyway,” and he handed us our contract and keys with a wink.

There we stood at the designated parking spot ̶ the one that matched the number on our contract ̶ staring at a shiny, black Mustang. I couldn’t contain myself any longer and started jumping up and down and laughing and thinking, “My Father loves me! My Heavenly Father delights in me!” He provided exceedingly and abundantly beyond all I asked or imagined.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

 

Lore Switzer celebrates 25 years married to the love of her life and serving alongside him in ministry. Together they are proud parents to 4 children and Lore loves to mother those who want to come along.   She also enjoys quilting, reading, gardening and connecting with friends and family but her greatest joy is deepening her relationship with her heavenly father and learning to walk in the light of his love and favor.