hope & courage

We walked in beauty last night, my girl & I.
It was just us... and a couple of mother ducks looking after their fuzzy little ducklings.

I had been meaning to get there for a while.  A friend shared some pictures of this magical spot months ago and although it was near the top of my to-do list, I had yet to make the time for it.  But last night… well, it was meant to be.

We have put some tough weeks behind us.  Days we thought might break us, not just our hearts. The facts of it all are still hard to say out loud, and I cover them with softer, vaguer, gentler words. Laura is home. Things didn’t work out so well. We are trying to re-group.  All of those things are true… and easier to say than she failed her zoo testing and can’t go back.  There have been a lot of tears, from both of us. And as if God could not feel the weight of my heart and see the river of tears, I had say out loud, loudly, how much I hated this situation.  And what I mostly hate is that she did her best, and it wasn't good enough. Ouch.

All along though, I have trusted that God has a plan for her.  That if this was not the path He desired for her, that there would be another way.  Last week, we gripped hands in the car, and I prayed God, we hope that this is the path we have been looking for, but even if it isn't, we still trust you.  Off she went, into an interview... and the next day she got the news that she got the job.  At the zoo.  She won't be a keeper... yet. But oh how we can feel the love of God in this answer.

When Wendi told me about this garden, I had forgotten that it had a name...

The garden of hope and courage.
These last few weeks had been leading us here. To this place, this moment in time. 

I watched her look out over the pond, and I see the young woman she has become, the way life has molded her heart, and I can see that He has given her all that she needs.  Hope for the future of her dreams. And courage to continue to pursue it, even after a fall...

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, 

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11