Annette Ellard
Field Personnel in Louisville, Kentucky
“Now, may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
Throughout nearly 20 years of ministry among the Karen and other refugees from Burma, a few key scriptures have guided, shaped and defined our ministry. But it was Romans 15:13 that came as a surprise and a blessing.
I was having trouble connecting to the Wi-Fi at Crescent Hill Baptist Church, which provided the space for Hope Academy, a small school we operated from 2011 through 2013 to help struggling Karen refugees from Burma finish high school. When someone set a new password for Hope Academy to use to connect, they chose Romans 15:13.
One day, when we had lost the connection and I had to reenter the password, it occurred to me that it might be a scripture passage, so I looked it up. Somehow, it seemed as though I was seeing the passage for the first time. I shared it with the class, and we memorized it. It was thoughtful that someone had incorporated the theme of our school into the password, but it was more than that. We would claim it as a blessing.
It was late autumn, and my students had been producing art for a series of Christmas cards to be sold as a fundraiser for the school. We had been considering what kind of Christmas greeting to include and this scripture would be perfect, both for capturing the spirit of the season and the spirit of the school. We would share the blessing we had received with others.
Over the years, this Blessing of Hope has stuck with me and the passage has come to me again and again. But it was on a sunny summer day, standing at the graveside of a small Karen child, that God sent it to me as a benediction. A benediction is often thought of as a blessing at the end of worship; but rather than marking the end of something, benedictions signal a transition. Benedictions are literally “good words” that serve to ground us in the promises of God and remind us of our purpose before we step out into an often chaotic and oh so unpredictable world.
The little girl had been hit by a car while playing hide-and-seek with her cousins. Her parents, both Buddhist, shared how the five-year-old loved to sing God songs. Because she loved God, they said, they wanted her to have a Christian funeral and burial, but they didn’t know what to do. Could we make it for them, please.
It was the first funeral I had been so involved in, and after the funeral and graveside service, my energy was spent. Finally, when the burial was complete, the family and other mourners stood motionless by the grave. I, too, felt paralyzed by the weight of the moment. How could these parents— how could any of us—move on?
Then, suddenly inspired, I lifted my hands into the air and declared,
Blessing of Hope
“Now, may the God of Hope
fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with Hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Amen.