It can be scary to hope.

It can be terrifying to dream.

It can feel impossible to believe we were created for more.

But do it anyway. Grab onto hope with both hands and refuse to let go. 

In a recent Podcast interview, one of my best friends and someone I admire deeply spoke to this reality.

Joy Reyes is the executive director of New Hope Girls. My relationship with Joy and New Hope Girls goes back roughly five years and presently I am involved as a board member.  

Grab onto Hope (with both hands!)

In her interview,  Joy spoke of her important, challenging, and rewarding mission in the Dominican Republic. She leads the charge for rescuing girls and empowering women – each of whom has a unique and usually painful story.

Joy shared how it can be so hard to embrace the reality that we were created for more. She shared, “Sometimes it feels like we only grab onto all that we were created to be with one hand. And then we hold onto our past and our pain with another hand. And we are torn. In order for us to step into all we were created to be you have to let go and create space.”

I ask you today: Are you holding on with “one hand”? Or, are you making space for all you were created to be?

You are not an accident. There is a purpose for your life. If you find yourself clutching a past that is laced with pain it is time to release. Let it go. And with that hand, reach forward into all that you can be. You were created for more.

“If it is scary to grab on – it is so worth it”

Yes, Joy is right that it can be scary. She is equally right that it is so worth it. There is freedom in confidently claiming your worth and value. It begins to inform your attitudes and behaviors. It is a game changer.

You can want it more for them.

Maybe in your current season you love someone who cannot see her own worth. You are watching as she reaches back with one hand while desperately trying to reach for a future that is brighter, more beautiful and filled with light. You know that she really needs to release what was and turn fully to what can be. But what is your role? 

This is not an unfamiliar position for Joy. The girls and women she serves in New Hope often cannot see the beauty and possibilities themselves. While reflecting on a familiar statement, “You can’t want it more than they want it.” Joy’s response is this:

You know, I don’t know if I believe that. I know Jesus wants it more for us than we want it for us. He is constantly pursuing, and fighting, and convincing of our worth. And as we grab onto that, we really can have hope. I think that is our work…to believe when they don’t believe and to dream when they can’t dream.

Maybe this is where you find yourself. Fighting for someone else. Take heart in the battle and know that loving fiercely and deeply has been modeled for us by Jesus himself. These times can be dark, depressing, and disheartening – be the light that illuminates hope for someone else. 

So how about it?

Will you hope?

Will you dream?

Will you believe with conviction that you were created for more? 

It is time to grab onto hope with both hands and refuse to let go.