HOPE SINGS...

It's been a rough week.

One Mama is running out of breath and the other doesn't know us anymore. The granddog sheds like crazy, which means I have to actually vacuum.  Dickman left a brand new bag of potato chips out on the counter and I ate them.  All of them.  I even turned the bag upside down to get every last crumb.  And now my front butt is back.

Don't even get me started on the presidential election; it's making nuts of us all because, well...

And then, the unspeakable happened.  Once again.

Evil struck in Orlando.  Stealing lives, stirring fear, sparking division.

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I was up late last night... thinking, praying.  It was well after midnight when I noticed a chirping noise coming from my porch.  As I listened, the bird sang louder and louder.  Not just a simple little 'tweet' but a full-blown opera.  The sound was so incongruous with the darkness that I smiled.  

This morning, I went outside and discovered this:

A nest full of baby birds nestled in (get this!) an artificial tree we had shoved in the corner of the porch.  

There are many real trees in our yard.  I have no idea why Mama Bird decided to build her nest in an old fake tree and then sing for all she's worth in the middle of the night.  But I'm awfully glad she did.

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Sometimes it's easy to sink into the darkness... to be pulled under by the sadness and pain that surrounds us.  But I've come to understand that even while my heart is breaking, even though my eyes are filled with tears, my soul can still find peace.

Because of the hope I have in Him.

I know that if I cling to that hope like a lifeline, strength will flow in place of weakness.  Faith will chase away fear and doubt.

And even in the darkness I will find my song, once more.

You know how I know this is true?

A little birdie told me so...