By Allison Vines, Director of Care

Christ is risen! We celebrate our risen Lord. But what if we feel something in addition to joy and celebration? We were reminded on Sunday that everything wasn’t perfect the day after Easter. Jesus’ closest friends and followers were afraid. Reality and hope don’t always match up perfectly and that can result in fear. But Jesus doesn’t turn away from us in our fear, He meets us there. It’s okay to be afraid. Our fears tell us that something isn’t right, that we should pay close attention to our surroundings.

“Fear brings us strength. It is the feeling that allows us to experience risk, trust, dependency, collaboration, and ultimately, wisdom because it helps us realize our need for help.”  The Voice of the Heart

If your soul is feeling afraid, allow it. Jesus will do great work in your fear. Remember, fear is not the absence of hope!

Have you allowed yourself to feel hope these past six weeks, past two months, past year? Hope is a feeling of expectation, a desire for something to happen or to change. What are you hopeful for right now?

Find someone this week that you can share your hopes with. Hold hope for each other. Journal each day something that you are hopeful for. I’ll make this easy, you can hope to find hope. You can hope for the same thing each day. By sharing your hopes with others, yourself, and with God, you are daring to trust. You are making space for the many other feelings we all experience. Remember, fear is not the absence of hope... hope walks alongside fear!