I love (understatement) the food at Epiphany Farms restaurant in town. They switch the menu every season based on what is fresh at their farm. I never want to look at the menu. I just order the multi course tasting menu and ask the waiter to tell me nothing about it. 
You could call that blind faith… but it’s not blind. They have come through time and time again. I have confidence that no matter what I order it will be worth it. I will discover a new flavor combination I never considered. A new farm fresh ingredient I want to try. And sometimes I learn what I don’t like or I would do differently. I wait for each course with patience, with anticipation and with an expectation that they know what they are doing.
That is the definition of hope.
It is waiting with full knowledge and joy and expectation. It is based on experience. It says that I trust. God knows better than me. He is the chef. He knows what he is doing.
Hope is not a wish. It’s not crossing my fingers, closing my eyes tightly, unsure whether a miracle will happen and I’ll get a pony for Christmas.
Hope is confident. It is anticipation. It is positive.
When I say that I have hope that God will use this moment, this circumstance, this person for something better… I’m not wishing upon a star or seeking to wave a magic wand. It not an overly optimistic picture of birds and rainbows and everything will be perfect. Like Epiphany, I have experienced and witnessed what Jesus has done in my life and the lives of those around me. In the good time and the bad times and the hard times. I have trust. Trust that no matter what happens there is a larger reason and purpose. Trust that God can and will use me for something important and good in this world no matter the circumstances.
So… I hope.
originally written: October 15, 2015
jessica lynn shull 
thoughts go here... be nice... be thankful...