When the road has been interminably long, the struggle exhausting, the aftershocks as unnerving as the initial crisis, our hope can begin to look worn around the edges, tattered, frayed. But hope rooted in the truths God expressed in His Word can never wear out. It may look that way from our side, from our viewpoint. But from God's angle, it is as solid as ever. Discovering the tenacity of hope when we think it's almost completely worn through is part of the wonder in these stories of survivors of other people's incredibly bad and in some instances life-altering decisions.

Sometimes I wonder if God doesn't want to erase the word "fair" from the dictionary. He's the only one who can pull off "fair" consistently, and His definition often doesn't mesh with our limited understanding. Life itself lacks fairness. But that doesn't equate to God's absence. I've been deeply touched by the stories of people who have endured absurdities and abuses that make us shudder, but who report having felt a sense that God was there, even then, that He cared-which He does-and that His own heart breaks with our pain. The comfort in that became a holding on place for them, as it can for all of us.

The tough-and-tender question is a great example of something impossible to manage without God's help. Finding that balance--knowing when to speak and when to be quiet, when to encourage and when to challenge, when to toughen up and when to soften up, when to intervene and when to let the scene play out--can only be accomplished with any sense of confidence when we're maintaining a strong connection with the God who can show us how. One of my current favorite verses of Scripture reminds us that His understanding is unlimited. Who else could we trust to whisper wisdom's direction in our ear?

Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone's going through something, or they know someone who is. So much attention is thrown on the person who causes the pain, who has a headline-making moral failure, whose sin land's them in jail. But these are stories of those who are left to pick up the pieces, who are living in the fallout. Listening to their stories of courage, seeing the way they let God redeem their circumstances, the way He points them to where His Hope remains vital and vibrant despite their difficulties can't help but inspire us and strengthen our own view of the exquisite value of hope, even when it looks worn around the edges."And hope does not disappoint," the Bible tells us in Romans 5:5.

The psalmist repeats a particular phrase several times in Psalm 42 and 43, as if reminding himself and us: "I will hope again."

No matter how knee-rattling or heart-wrenching the circumstances, we can cling to handholds of hope while we wait for rescue.

I'd love to keep the conversation going, discussing times when hope seems to hide among the fallout ash of other people's choices. If you go to my website, you can learn more about

and about my other books. 

Thank you, Janet, for hosting me on your newsletter and giving me the opportunity to present what I pray will be a hope-giving book for those standing by or in the middle of a crisis not of their own doing. I would like to give away books to two of your readers.