A Trip to Texas ~ A Journey of Hope Part VI - EVOLVE

I hope you've experienced some of the joy, love, excitement, and HOPE I encountered while on this part of my journey in life. Who would of known in 1994 I would travel to San Antonio to say thank you in person and be catalyst in the lives of families searching for their loved ones across the country? Not me, that is for sure.

Nineteen years ago I wasn't sure how I would get myself out of bed, showered, and make it through the day more or less be an image of hope for others. God is good and uses our hurt, brokenness, and troubles to bless us...and others if we listen and are obedient to follow Him. This is probably one of the same reasons I like this verse from 2 Corinthians:

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful
Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our
troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able
to give them the same comfort God has given us."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Only God knew the strength, compassion, and hope He would instill in me to help others so many years ago. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't an easy or over joyful experience the first decade yet it was during those toughest of times, and then the years to follow that I realized I NEED God in my life and can't do this on my own or in my own strength. None of us can.

If we want to EVOLVE into the man, woman, or child God is calling us to be ~ then we need to move forward using our past as rings of a ladder. Instead of focusing on the bad and falling down, if we change our perspective then maybe each struggle, obstacle, trial, stressor, or tough situation will drive us to build up arm strength to reach for the next rung upward.

One way I've found that helps me to keep a forward and upward momentum is to Help Other People, and similar to this trip to Texas ~ by helping others, you end up helping yourself too. How cool is this? There is something amazing about seeing the joy on someone's face when you 've helped them. It's even better when you can help someone and they don't know who to thank. It isn't about the praise for helping someone, it's all about the hope, joy, and love you share to help someone else evolve into who they are called to be. We all are gifted to do something and if we have our eyes, ears, and heart open for what God has for each of us...the sky is the limit.

The last letter in hope is "e" and it stands for EVOLVE. It is possible to evolve from whatever difficult or challenging situation you might be facing today. We all face something each day that we struggle with, it's only natural and the Bible tells us "when" trials come. I haven't found a verse anywhere in the Good Book that says we won't face troubles. It's what we do with ourselves to help others after we learn from our mistakes or the effects of something we didn't choose or create.

Never give up! You've got this! There is always HOPE and it's found in Jesus Christ and when we Help Other People Evolve we are sharing this truth with others too. Have a great weekend and remember to make memories this weekend with the ones you love.

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H for HOPE, O for Other, P for People, and E to EVOLVE

The HSC’s theme for the coming year is HOPE – to Help Other People Evolve. You are a small portion of the people they hope to inspire, motivate, and encourage to evolve from the “____ of missing person ____”, "____ of the ____kid", or "____of the past".

I’m going to say, “I am ____”, when I do this, I want you to SAY YOUR NAME.  Ready?...”I AM _______” 

This reminds me of the song, “Hello, My Name is” by Matthew West ~ Have you heard this song before?

I am so excited for each of you here tonight – just by being here, you have taken a huge step to move forward.

Holidays can be difficult but when we lean on the help of others and let them help us – we can all evolve together and its easier to see you are more than how you might feel on the tough days, YOU ARE  (say your name again) and you are loved

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Have you evolved? What is the most memorable aspect?