Hidden Hope

Romans 15:13 -- "May The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace."

Growing up a missionary kid, the images conjured up in my head when someone said "think of home" were very different than those a single-continent dweller might have. Usually, a mental photograph of a single home with a pretty white picket fence didn't enter into to the picture at all. In fact, a single picture wouldn't have done it - home was usually a hodge-podge of wonderful people and warm faces more than it was about places.

One piece to this eclectic collection of images and experiences included the rumbling of the rail road tracks across from my grandmother's house. When the train went by, the entire house produced a low frequency groan and the vibrations could be felt through the floor, in the walls - even in the shower. It was, somehow a comfort to me.

When we were young and visiting "home" on furlough from the mission field my cousins would put pennies on the tracks just before a freight train stormed by. The penny would sometimes fly off the track without so much as a scratch, but other times, it would spin out from under the huge metal wheels flat as a pancake, scarred beyond recognition. There is great power in a moving train.

So it was a surprise to me when I read that over across our Atlantic Pond a few rail road maintenance men in England discovered a small thrush's nest securely tucked away underneath the trusses of the well-worn tracks. The female thrush not only called the unlikely retreat home, but was, in fact, sitting on a clutch of eggs. Quite comfortable to attend to her motherly duties as the trains ripped and roared just over her head, she seemed oblivious to the noises and the vibrations. She was at peace amidst some pretty loud chaos.

We could all take a few notes and learn from this very small bird. Her tiny little voice has been heard world-wide as this story has reached every corner of the globe. This little feathered mamma has been able to reach the hearts of people in a way that even other people haven't really been able. She has reminded us, that God is in control and that no matter our situation, we CAN have peace. It all comes down to clinging to God's promises and claiming the gifts that He has already given. It comes down to holding on to God's hope.

What are our troubles but fast moving trains that set foundations to quake? Noisy moving issues that rattle our faith and shake loose some confidence from time to time? Like the thrush, we have the choice to keep on keepin' on. There is no doubt that she knows every time a train passes by. Even if she couldn't hear the noise due to some problems with her ears [which she does not have] she could at least feel the rumble in the metal overhead. But little thrush mamma doesn't let that stand between success and her chicks tucked tightly away in their shells. No, she sits firm - gently encouraging her babies to grow. She will add to the thrush population and cultivate new life amid the cacophony.

In these times, there are moments when we look at our lives and feel that there is no way we can possibly get through whatever THING is shaking our network of spiritual track. But today really isn't all that different from when Jesus walked the dusty streets and offered hope to a desperate mankind. We may think that we have to deal with situations so foreign to believers that surely we are bringing a new element of chaos into our prayers. Chaos to which God's Word must NOT have intended nor to which the old verses apply. This is not the case. When you think about it, God never intended for us to leave the Garden of Eden at all so the struggles we face today are just as relevant to the "old promises" as the struggles Noah faced on the ark, Esther faced when her people were about to be slaughtered, and Joshua faced when charged with bringing the walls of Jericho to the ground. God's promises are timeless. His hope is eternal.

And very, very real.

It is true, the English Thrush may not have had the use of rail road tracks several thousand years ago when these verses were shared with the church in Rome. But today, she builds her nest - just as all thrushes do - just as they did when Paul set out on his first missionary journey. The scenery has changed a little bit. But her task has not.

Ours hasn't either.

Look closely into the creaking, winding, rusting metal tracks of our busy lives. Hope IS there. God has given it to us.