Hope's Alive.

Now it's official – I'm officially sad. Hope is gone to be with her “true love” - her husband, the one who loves Hope more than himself. The one who couldn't stand to be without her so he prepared a place for her and took her there. The one who gave HOPE new life - both here on earth and there with Him.

I think about how Hope used to “cut” - and it really was an addiction with her. When she came to The Salvation Army, it was like coming home, she used to say. It had all the warmth and laughter and hugs that she used to dream about . . . It gave her hope and something to live for – promise of new life – in fact, her user name was always the same “htnewlife07” – 07 because that's when she “woke up” she said (after Marge's testimony, she loved that phrase).

My heart is heavy – Hope was truly a friend to me. At first, I was just there for her, helping her, being nice to her but I realized after about a year, that it had changed – and we were truly friends. When I called her one day just to call her, I knew that we had past the point of me being the bossy mom – I had become her friend. She was there for me, helping me, telling me when I needed to change. When I would face road trip by myself, I always called up Hope – and she always brought CD's and stuff to talk about.

If I ever start a ministry for young girls who need hope – I think I'm going to call it, “Hope's Alive.”

Because she is.