Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful

Katie's story is incredible. While not everyone can move to another country and do what Katie did, we do each have trials that we go through and God is the reason we can get through them. Katie's story is about real life – the joys and the sorrows. Ultimately, like the title says, it is about daring to hope, especially when there doesn't seem like there is much to hope for. When I first started reading the book, I thought, I'm not doing enough. Look at what she has done! How can I do that? But by the end, I realized that God uses us where He has called us. It may be in our homes, our jobs, or on the other side of the world, but we must be willing to be used by Him. One of the first things I underlined in this book was this quote, “I give Him my little and He makes up for my lack.” We just need to be willing to give Him what we have, give it all to Him, and He will take care of the rest. One of the things that really struck me about her story is the personal journey God took her on. Katie talks about how when she first went to Uganda, many doors were open for her. God paved the way for her and blessed her ministry. She goes on to say, “But over time He has been showing me an even deeper truth: that when all those things pass away, He will remain.” When things feel stagnant, when we feel no hope, when we don't get the answers to prayers that we want, when things are hard, Katie says, “He is still glorified in our faithful pursuit of Him.” We must keep going in the race. We must continue to hope. Our world has a lot of darkness in it. There are many hard days. But in it all, we are called to hope. Not all of Katie's story is easy to read. There is darkness, but there is also light. There is sorrow, but also joy. There are trials, but ultimately, there is hope. Hope in Jesus!