Hope does not disappoint.

Last night was special.  I was with some of my closest friends.  As I looked around the room, I took notice of every single friend.  I thought to myself, in amazement, what each one has endured – and, how each one was still standing.

For all of us girls, it’s been about real covenant friendship.  A kind of “no matter what” friendship.  A friendship where we have grown together in Him.  A friendship based on that very foundation. 

We have rejoiced with one another.  We have cried with one another. 

None of us have been immune to disappointments. 

Some of us were widowed in our twenties and thirties.

Some of us were left to parent alone.

Some of us have experienced broken hearts and shattered dreams.

Some of us have lost a child.

We know pain.  We know disappointment.

But, we also know this:

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  Romans 5:3-5

Knowing this doesn’t magically obliterate pain or erase the past.  But it does let us embrace how much Jesus loves us and how much we love each other. 

Because, hope does not disappoint.  And, we will never stop hoping.

That Romans 5 scripture has carried me through a lot of disappointments.  Do you have a special scripture that carries you through yours?