What gives you hope??

Easter weekend was amazing! We went to a great church service on Saturday evening. We colored eggs with the kids. We spent a great Easter Sunday with family...good times and good food. Memories were made! I spent a lot of time this weekend so grateful for the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was a great Easter!! I felt joy in the fact that we have family and friends and Jesus in our lives.

Then came Monday, and that joy just seemed to be sucked away. Monday I faced orthodontist appts. with the girls. Result: Over $5000 worth of braces needed SOON for T. Since we don't have $5000 laying around unused, that equals $230/month for braces! I am still stressing over where we can possibly make enough cuts in our budget to cover $230/month for braces. Then I had to go to school on Monday evening and face a midterm that I knew I had done poorly on. This is my first semester back in school, and it is tough! And, I was right...I did not do well! So by last night when I got home at 10:00, I was pretty defeated. My joy from just one day before was buried in the worries of my world right now.

But then this morning, I see this:

And I have HOPE!! We have been watching this little tree that sits outside little R's window all winter! He has grown fond of this tree, and we have just been waiting for some sign of life from it. And the pink flowers belong to our neighbor, but they still bring me hope! These are signs of life!! They bring me hope that this long, hard winter is finally coming to end! And that may sound overly dramatic, but it HAS been long and hard!! These small signs of life in the trees and bushes are proof to me that they were watched over through this long winter. And that gives me hope that I am being watched over, too! Even through financial concerns and school concerns and family concerns, I have hope!! Warmer days are coming (literally and figuratively) and we will come out blooming, too!!

So for today, I am not defeated! I have hope! Hope that we will find the money to pay for braces. Hope that I will do better on my final, and my grade will be fine. Hope that little R's tree will grow and thrive. Hope that soon I will be enjoying the sunny days with all my kids at home with me. I have hope!