On Monday, I started to tell you my story. A story of a life upturned by a then-small boy and the big bright blue of an African sky.
You can read that story here. Or here. Or here.
I have written it before and I will write it again. Because it is a story that beats in my heart and that shines my way. A story that changes with every telling and with each breath I take. A story that pushes me to ask myself a million questions, and a story that never fails to encourage me to ask others at least one.
Today, I want to ask you that one simple question. One simple question that guided me from the beginning, that led me to the end, and that keeps that very story unfolding before me as I type these words.
And here is that question.
What is the thing you hope for? What is your hope?
What is it you see before your eyes when the night is long and the light is low? What is the beating heart of that thing you want more than any other? What is the hope inside of you that lives as a guidepost and that promises to steer your way? What is that hope that will change you like no other?
I know my answer.
For me, then, it was a boy and it was a happy place in the wide world of Africa. For you, it may be the eyes of a man or the pulse of a child or the wind on a cool Saturday. It may be any number of things, or just one thing. One small glaring thing that blinds all others.
No matter what it is, though, it is there. Waiting to be named.
The hope of your world. The hope that will drive you home.
And I want to know what it is that you hope for. What is it that makes your hope run?
Leave a comment, share your hope, and don’t forget to enter a win a copy of our new story.
About Hope Runs:
Sammy Ikua Gachagua had lost his father to illness, his mother to abandonment, and his home to poverty. By age ten, he was living in a shack with seven other children and very little food. He entered an orphanage seeing it as a miracle with three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and clothes on his back.
When Claire Diaz-Ortiz arrived in Kenya at the end of an around-the-world journey, she decided to stay the night, climb Mt. Kenya, then head back home. She entered an orphanage seeing it as little more than a free place to spend the night before her mountain trek. God had other plans.
Hope Runs is the emotional story of an American tourist, a Kenyan orphan, and the day that would change the course of both of their lives forever. It’s about what it means to live in the now when the world is falling down around you. It’s about what it means to hope for the things you cannot see. Most of all, it’s about how God can change your life in the blink of an eye.
About Claire Diaz-Ortiz:
Claire Diaz-Ortiz (@claire) is an author, speaker and Silicon Valley innovator who was an early employee at Twitter. Named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, she holds an MBA and other degrees from Stanford and Oxford and has been featured widely in print and broadcast media. She writes a popular blog at ClaireDiazOrtiz.com and is the author of the new book, Hope Runs: An American Tourist, a Kenyan Boy, a Journey of Redemption.
becky j says
My hope is Jesus..He will make ALL things new…wars will end, hatred stop, death banished, sickness no-more, tears wiped away..Oh yes, JESUS alone is my hope!!
Julie says
My hope is in Christ alone! He is my past, present and future. My Saviour, friend, love and God. When this world distracts me, He is my anchor and hope.
Allison says
My hope is that my husband will choose his family and our marriage over his own selfish desires. That is my biggest hope of all….
Michelle says
My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus love and righteousness. But also I have a hope that every child can grow with a whole unshattered heart.
Cathy P says
My hope is in Jesus. I have looked for love, to be loved and there is no one that can give it to me like I want. I want to taste and feel more love. My hope is to love and show love to others to let people know that love can be found in Jesus.
reynada says
My hope is to find my calling and direction.
Katy says
I am hoping for a job offer (and then a child because we cant afford babies until I am employed) I am trying to HOPE IN THE LORD for these things and to sustain me.
Mandy says
My hope is that Jesus will fulfill the desires I believe He’s put in my heart. Specifically writing and moving to the country 🙂
lisa @ being stepmom says
My hope is for my family to have good health, happiness and a heart for Jesus.
Reba says
My hope is in The Lord ! And to maybe help someone along the way in life to feel the love of Jesus Christ .
Kelly says
My hope is I will strengthen enough to surrender to God’s permissible will.
Linda says
My hope is that my two teenage boys will make good choices as they both go off to college and that the faith that my husband and I express & live will become their faith as well.
Elizabeth says
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
My hope is that my sons will return to their faith and stand firm in Christ. That they will remember their anointing, their seal and the guarantee of the Spirit in their lives.
Tara says
My hope is to trust that God will bring my Mr. Right into my life and to start a family!
Monica says
Claire,
Thank you for a beautiful post and for sharing your story! My hope is first and foremost in Christ. My second hope is and will always be to see God’s continued Prescence and hand upon the life of my precious son. I have been given the grace to watch him grow from infant to now adolescent. Through each developmental stage, I have seen his love for Our Lord continue to grow and shine through. Thank you Claire for asking those two simple questions – “What do I hope for?” And “What makes my hope run?”
Sara says
My hope is that my life brings God glory. Even in the deep valleys, the ugly hurts, the tough days of raising 5 kids (2 of whom have special needs), when I want to choose my own kingdom, my own selfishness, when I don’t trust in God like I should, when I am tired and worn, ….. When the days are sunny and things go smoothly, when there is much laughter and a light heart, when we have extra money to put aside at the end of the month, when my husband makes me feel beautiful and I blush embarrassed, when I sing off key as I worship my Lord, when I talk with a dear friend…. my life’s goal is to point others to God and bring Him glory in the mundane things of life.
Beth Williams says
My hope is several things: 1) to rid the world of cancer completely!
2) End all wars and strife!!! 3) For a new/different job for myself and hubby!!
Jesus is my hope and He alone can make all things happen!!
Blessings 🙂
Judy says
Good questions! My one big hope, the anchor for my soul, is looking forward to eternity with God. Jesus is the hope of the world!