Monday, December 1

Glorious Hope

By Melissa Harris

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –

-Emily Dickinson

When I was in third grade, I attended a parochial school. My teacher, Mr. Renken, was an ex-Marine with a big heart and no teaching experience. Among his charges that year was, well, me, and a cute, dimple-faced kid who always had the biggest smile and a sparkle of mischief in his eyes. Mark was a gymnast who could flip across the gym floor like nothing the rest of us had seen before. Mark was like a celebrity hero to us, an athlete who belonged on the Olympic stage. 

We all loved Mark. We still do. During that year Mark was diagnosed with leukemia. He was absent a lot, getting treatments and recovering; he attended school when his immune system was strong. He lost his hair and physical strength, but never his sense of humor or that infectious smile.

Each morning and afternoon our class would pray for Mark. When he had to stay home away from our germs, we wrote cards and letters to him. We all took turns recording messages for him on a tape recorder. We recapped adventures from recess, read stories from books, told him our favorite jokes, and shared anything we could think of to let him know he was part of our class. Mr. Renken visited Mark regularly, keeping him caught up with schoolwork, bringing news and encouragement from classmates, and then sharing Mark’s replies and messages with us the next day. We always hoped Mark would be back soon.

Mark did get better! He was in remission! Our prayers and expectations of Mark’s return to school were realized! Yes, there was much to celebrate when all that we hoped for was proved.

A few short months later the leukemia returned with a vengeance. Before the end of April, Mark had died. Our Wednesday chapel service became a funeral. Mark was granted a burial plot in the undeveloped part of the cemetery that bordered the school’s playground to fulfill his last wish. He wanted to be part of our class and school always. We planted a tree in his honor. Every student did some digging and planting. That tree still grows today.

What I remember most from that time was our teacher sharing the news of Mark’s passing. Mr. Renken had just visited Mark the night before.Mark had been sleeping, but awoke to relate how he had been in the most beautiful place with joyous, happy people. He talked about the brilliant light and sweet music of the place and how he could not wait to get there. Mark tried to point out winged creatures he called angels flying above their heads who were showing the way. Mr. Renken said that when he said good-bye, Mark had the most peaceful composure and his smile was of glory.

Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV).

Hope is the song of our souls forever singing the hymns of God’s love through every moment of believers lives, giving us rhythms that carry us from verse to verse. There is a grand finale awaiting us beyond any current comprehension of wonderful, but we can be assured it is beautiful.

God gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born, live, be crucified and die on earth to overcome the death we all deserve. Instead, we will reign with God in paradise for eternity.

This is our hope.