Hope for the Hopeless

Tired, always tired, and gaunt, you wouldn’t look in the mirror if it was thrust in your face because you knew what you’d see and it isn’t a pretty sight.

Faded, unwashed hair straggling around your face is the least of your concerns, but the eyes…Oh those eyes, the dark look of hopelessness looming there is what makes others look away, it is so, so…what it is? Only you can say for sure: lonely? Despairing? Filled with a lifetime of pain, heartache, and grief?

You are plodding down a crowded street, shoved or avoided by the hurrying throng that you hardly notice, but you need a fix: that is your consuming desire, a fix, a fix, but that is exactly what you wanted to avoid at all costs.

 For ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty years or more your life has been a mess of addiction, prostitution and other details known only know to you but where oh where can you get your next very fleeting thrill from a pill, a bottle or a needle?

Natalie, yes, that’s a real person, was facing 

the same desperate situation once.  After serving time in jail, you can imagine what for, she had nowhere to turn, no place to live but, maybe with her sister.

She had been wandering, drifting for so many years that she absolutely loathed it. After reaching the empty apartment Natalie wandered out to the balcony and thought of ending her life by jumping down, but it wasn’t far enough. 

Across the normally teeming street was a new building going up with scaffolding high in the air. That’s where she was headed: that would be a good place to leap from. For some reason there was no one around which was very unusual, as she crossed the street, however, a small black man came out of the shadows and handed her a handwritten letter while saying: ‘Jesus loves you’. She paused to read it and one thing lead to another until she found out about Heart Seasons.

If you live in New York City maybe you have heard about them.

Natalie found a group of people with as bad a history as hers. She found other ‘sisters’ who had tried to recover countless times from addictions, but here at Heart Seasons there was hope. Yes, there really was.

This center was different than many; it focused on Jesus as the only answer. The program was strict, really strict for they were expected to take part in several hours of Bible study every single day, and were not allowed to ever leave without an escort.

After a year and a half or way longer if they wanted, if a person stuck with the program they could graduate, if they were ready. Being ready meant being able to rent an apartment and have a job for at least three months. Most were terrified of leaving, but of course, they weren’t abandoned, they had their support group, and best of all they had Jesus.

Are you like Natalie, desperate, despairing and certain you have tried every ‘solution’ out there?

There is hope. There truly is. Jesus can be your anchor from drifting back into sin. There are friends of Jesus who would love to reach out to you, also.

 Contact me, if you want and I’ll see what I can do to help. Look up Heart Seasons in the telephone book, or elsewhere. I’m trying to find an address for you.

P.S. I tried to find the website for you but the link appeared to be broken: try this:

The Bowery Mission Women’s Center at Heartsease Home

Whatever you do, never, never, never give up; there is hope.

Where Are You Today

Are you in prison, or even in a dungeon, perhaps? Where are you in your mind, your heart, your spirit? Do you feel trapped, overwhelmed, pressured, frantic, lonely or in despair? Does it feel like no one understands, and maybe they don't either because of problems of their own? Do you feel like you have no one to turn to and every time you move forward you hit against a brick wall or a tangle of thorns? You're facing darkness, which causes frustration, a hopeless feeling while seeing no way out. "Someone put the lights out in the tunnel, but it wasn't me," you say. I've gone through that, too. Maybe not to the extent some of you have, but I know what it is like to be in a fog, in emotional distress, so may I offer you a hand to hold? Oh, my, I feel so inadequate to get my message across! I know there are folks out there who are suffering, they are part of the Broken Hearted Anonymous Communities and are on the fringes of life. I'd reach out my hands imploringly "let me help you, let me help carry your burden," but I am so inadequate. But, fortunately, there is hope. Even though those of us that care feel so helpless to do enough, there is someone who can help. Have you met Jesus? Do you know that He is the dearest, most faithful Friend of all? Did you know He is the great Burden Bearer, the Healer? Do you know that He is reaching out to comfort you? Did you? He wants to remove all those worries, vices, and what not all that you are carrying, replace them with His love and His peace then hold you close to His bosom. Did you know that? Will you let Him do it? I know, it takes a step of faith, but you can trust Him, I promise. I found out for myself. I promise, you can trust Him, and when you are ready to start walking again, he will take your hand if you let Him, He will guide you through the dark valleys, the storms and the desert. Trust Him. I know it's true because He did it for me. And oh, here's a great post-script. When you walk hand in hand with Him long enough, you will discover that as one song says 'there is joy in the journey, good times in the going.' In all their afflictions He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them and He carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9 Afflicted: Troubled, Suffering, Hurt, Tormented, Plagued, Stricken, Aggrieved, Distressed

Some People Deserve to Die

 Back in 1908, or so, (yes, that was before my time,) something happened that touched my heart. Someone did something awful, really, really awful and he killed another human being. He deserves to be condemned to death, right? But his attorney saw things differently. I think he must have visited with this prisoner many times, and became convinced the man deeply regretted what he had done. Most likely the guilty man didn’t give a whole list of excuses why he committed that horrendous act. He knew he was a sinner, and his advocate knew that he knew so he pled his cause.

In those days the man probably didn’t have a hope or not being hung from a tree or whatever means of punishment they used in his area, so it came to him as a surprise when the verdict was changed to a life sentence.  There were tears of gratitude in his eyes when he was led away.

I wish I could fill in the names of the key characters, my written source had not included them, but let’s put our own names into the blank.

We have been condemned to die, we are guilty. Our sin separates as from God. We can offer a multitude of excuses why we are like we are, but they won’t get us anywhere, certainly not to Heaven. An advocate came, and plead our cause. Perhaps it was because of His deep sacrificial love-I’m talking about Jesus now- we began to feel remorse then repentant. Yes, we admit, we deserve to die, but we are sorry, very sorry. The death sentence is lifted.

Do we run away scot free? Do we want to? Not if we truly realize what Jesus saved us from. In gratitude we will offer to be bond slaves to Jesus. It’s a whole lot easier than to be imprisoned by guilt and sin. It’s a whole lot easier in another way also. There is warmth and joy in such close fellowship.

What do you choose?

http://www.authorsden.com/marilynffriesen