Today as I was driving to the beach for a dog walk, I came across this boat. (Somehow it just doesn’t seem right to drive to a walk but that is for another tale.) I think it was meant to be a landmark for the house down the lane from the main road. It just struck me as funny and poignant.

“Hope”. It would be a miracle if this boat floats. Did it ever float? Was it once in bristol condition? What happened? Could it be rebuilt and once again take on the seas?

Yet, I was thinking how often this worn down, unseaworthy boat can be symbolic for my hope and ultimately my faith. Truth is, while I have hope for everyone else in the world, sometimes I do not have hope for myself. I truly believe that God has something special for everyone but I don’t always think that for myself. I may say that I have hope but many times I am quite cynical because experiences and relationships have sometimes not worked out as I have hoped. Each time I hope for something and it doesn’t appear to come to fruition, my hope boat springs a leak. I can easily be beaten down by the winds of disappointment. Each time they blow, my little vessel becomes battered and knocked about.

I recognize that way of thinking is immature and shortsighted. The little hope boat on the side of the road has come at time when I need to reflect on my faith. I have felt hopeless these last couple of months. Am I so shallow in my faith that a battering of broken bones and subsequent nerve damage (hopefully temporarily) has got me flummoxed?

Of course, I recognize that hope, faith and trust go hand in hand. When I feel my hope slipping and my little vessel of faith becoming unseaworthy, I remember all that God has done and all His promises. I remember that God is a good, loving and faithful Father. I remember that God’s will and timing are not at all mine. I remember that I am in need of so much grace and I need to extend that to others.

I remember Romans 8: 24: “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Right on the heels of that verse is a promise that even when we do not know how to pray- there are so many examples of how we can be stymied in prayer: loss of hope/faith, disappointments, overwhelmed, grieved, etc- the Spirit is there to help us. The Spirit intercedes for us when all hope is lost. How comforting is that?!

When my little vessel of hope is floundering, I need to remember that God is there to help right it. I need to trust and keep the faith.

What about you? What would be the name of your faith vessel? What would its condition be? Does your hope float?