Hope in Our Hearts by Lydia Proffitt

Dedication and Prologue

Dedication

To the One who is the Beginning, the Middle, and the End. The Alpha and the Omega. The Hope in my heart.

PROLOGUE

Hope—to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true; expect with confidence; trust

-Merriam Webster Dictionary

   Hope––the driving force in our hearts; without it, we are dead. Hope fuels us as we trek through our lives. Life rarely feels like you're coasting down a highway with the windows rolled down. There are blessings in life that can come when you least expect it, and other times, obstacles run out in front of you along the way. In a blink of an eye, all things can change. You lose control of the wheel and end up in a predicament that can feel like there is never a happy ending.

    There are moments that will knock you off your feet; you just have to remember to get up and fight harder because of the hope of better things to come. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, and that makes you endure the darkness swallowing you.

    I have many hopes in my life. One, to have the courage and faith of Lucy and Jason. I have had the pleasure of seeing their love first hand overcome any dilemma that crossed their paths. Their faith in God has been tested many times over the years pushing them to lose hope but find it again in the darkest of places. Their stories are both different but then come together as one to form a story of something beautiful––something called love, a rare treasure that is difficult to find. Lucy and Jason teach us that when you are lucky enough to find love, you must hold on to it and never let it go. You must have hope that love can conquer even the most impossible things, and you must know His love is the strongest love there is.

    Through their story, I have learned that in life you need three things: faith, hope, and love. The Bible tells me the greatest of these is love, and through these people, I have not only been able to see their love but the love of God.

    I hope this book will inspire you to look for hope, to have a little faith, and most importantly, I hope this book will show you that love exists. Not just the love of people we see every day but a much greater love. Love is complicated because it is not just a noun––it's also a verb. Love is not just something you feel, but something you show in the way you present yourself through actions and words. I believe love exists because God loved us enough to give us His only begotten Son, the greatest sign of love and my strongest hope.