Resilient Hope
Kendra Rowe, Somerset, Kentucky, USA
Hope in God frees us from crushed dreams to live full lives.
King David, Queen Esther, Relentless Ruth, The Prophet Elijah... those are familiar names in the church realm. Names held by people who have left a remarkable imprint on the lives of believers today. Names that fascinate us and cause this courage to rise up in us that says “With God all things are possible.” Or at least it does so with me. So hi, my name is Kendra LeeAnn Hope Rowe. I was born in 1996, on December 25th! Pretty cool birthday right? Hence the middle name “Hope”. It would seem that Hope has been the theme of my life...
I haven’t had a smooth sailing kind of life but nobody’s life is perfect. There’s been a lot of heart break, broken dreams, deferred hopes, simple hopes that seem attainable but yet for some reason I’ve yet to obtain. Ya know? Life stuff. In the midst of all my hopes that have been utterly crushed I still yet have this resilient hope within me that is rightfully placed in the Lord. I didn’t grow up in what I would call a peaceful home and in respect of others I won’t go into detail of it all but my dad was an alcoholic, and my mom as well as my brothers and I, faced a lot of struggles pertaining to that. Peace seemed to be something on the list of “unobtainables”. Not to mention I’m adopted which is a blessing but there’s a whole other rough, heartbreaking story leading up to that and God was with me through it all.
Since I was old enough to even think, I’ve always had this sense of great purpose and I’ve always known my life was meant for more than just the “ordinary”. I really believe I’m called to live out an extraordinary life of faith such as those people I listed at the start. I guess that’s why their stories in the Bible mean so much to me. Through all of the negative, bad, ugly, messy life situations God has never left me nor forsaken me and He has stuck by me closer than a brother. For someone who lived more than 10 years of her life having anxiety attacks every week and sometimes several days in a row I can now testify that I have more peace than I have ever had before and my hope in God has remained through it all. God has been my faithful rock. He is honest, just, and so Holy! I have tested and found that His Word is the truth and nothing can satisfy you or fill that void in your heart but God!
May you be blessed and find hope through this story that no matter what you face, if God be for you, who can be against you? Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world!
Kendra Rowe, Somerset, Kentucky, USA
Jun 2
