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 NIV

I was listening to my favorite Christian radio station when a pastor began discussing rats. He said hope is life-sustaining and a scientist had proven it. He explained that a scientist put a rat in a bucket of water and for 15 minutes the rat swam, gave up, and sunk to the bottom. The scientist rescued the rat, dried it off, and put it back into the water. This time the rat swam 72 hours. Scientists concluded that the rat was able to swim for so long because it had hope again. Hope of being rescued!

Sometimes I feel like I am swimming laps with no end in sight. I know God is working things out, but when I am slow to see the results of my waiting and prayers, anxiety starts to take hold and I sink. As a child, I had a pet duck, Peppi. One day when I was changing her swimming water, I noticed she had dirt on her and needed a bath. She didn’t resist when I picked her up and put her in her little pool of water, not even after I poured detergent in the water. She was so clean all the oil from her feathers was washed away. The oily feathers kept her afloat in her little pool. Every day she waddled over to her pool, jumped in, flapped her wings like crazy, and tried to swim. But to no avail. Then one day she hopped in, stretched out her wings, and started to swim. For the next few hours, she floated happily in the pool. Her oily feathers—and her hope—were fully restored.

You may be swimming your first lap or the one-millionth lap in a pool of worry, loss, or grief. Remember to keep your arms outstretched in praise of the One who gives us hope. God will restore your hope. He wants us to keep our eye on Him and keep swimming, even when we feel like giving up. Each day as our faith grows, the oil in our feathers will slowly be restored and we will find peace.

Mitzie Avera