Thursday afternoon a knock sounded from my front door. Central’s church treasurer had stopped by. I invited him in at which point he held out a small gift bag and said, “Here, this made me think of you.”

Upon unwrapping the bag’s contents I discovered a rather striking rock, the face of which had been engraved with a single word, hope. I loved it, but my friends next words were a gift one their own.

“This made me think of you, Wes, because with all that’s going on right now hope is hard. So I wanted you to have it.”

I’d just preached a sermon that Sunday on Hebrews 11 and the nature of hope ¹, so the timing of the gift was perfect! Hope is hard, and it can be painful lifeline on which to hang, but hope is also where faith gets its exercise.

Before he departed my friend had one more thing to say, “Just don’t be surprised if you get a knock on the door at 3 AM some time, only to see me there with my hand outstretched while demanding, ‘Give me the rock!’ Hope is hard, Wes!”

It is indeed.

I took the photo below using my flash in slave mode for the first time. It took a few tries to get the hang of the process ² but I’m pleased with the results!