Hope is what gets us through
by Rev. Scherie Gates, A Message · July 07, 2010

What is really gelling these days for me is understanding that there is the truth and what we believe to be true. Truth doesn’t change. Like now, it’s time to move. The truth is, all is in divine order. Trusting in divine timing helps go through the discomfort. Trust that divine order always serves the highest good. To hope gives me strength with the difficult stuff. OK, I have hope and I believe that hope must be part of my plan. I’m feeling anxious about leaving the place of my roots. The phase “home is where the heart is” comes to mind. My children, grandchildren and family — that is all good. It is the me — core thing. A dream of a home filled with memories. I have moved 14 times. I loved the idea of having a home you never had to move from, like my grandparents. For children and grandchildren to have my favorite sound in their memory of the slamming of the back porch door. Along with all these other conditions to formulate the guaranteed happy life — must be in shape, must be successful in my own business, must be this, must be that. Along that journey is the me — core thing — accept myself, then to enjoy myself.

I’m ready to move to another level of hope — to believe the message the angel of hope brought to me so many years ago. Hope. For every challenge, we need hope to help us THROUGH it. Hope is what gets us through with grace. There is a difference between “I sure hope so” and “I have hope.” The dictionary says, “To cherish a desire with anticipation; trust. One who, or that which gives hope or promises desired good.” A desired good. Hmmmm. Again, that one simple statement from a whole book that is sticking to me like glue. God is good. Good is God. God can only do good.

Ten years ago, I acknowledged that there may be a presence of angels and the possibility to communicate with an angel. I asked, and Amael came — a name I had never heard of. I then wrote a letter that spaced out perfectly on one page of my journal. To Scherie from Amael. A letter of hope that good can come from anything. When I think of hope, what is it? It is a butterfly feeling in my belly with pictures in my mind of possibility — places in my life that need healing, healed. That feels good. To keep the good feeling when the brain says, “OK...fine, but how is it ‘you’ are going to do that?” That is where truth has been lost in translation. Truth is, when it is ours to do we will know it, and it will be there to do. When we have no idea, that is when hope and faith and grace step in. The heart says, “This would be a really good thing.” I don’t know how, but I will just hold steadfast to how my heart feels and what it says to me. I’ll trust that with hope and grace. As I do my part, good will come. God being good. Good being God.

People often ask me if I have a church. I am a street minister — a minister of a wedding that can be anywhere, a minister of a baptism that can be anywhere, a minister of a funeral that can be anywhere. Because, God is everywhere. God needs voices, deeds and actions on this earth that are good. We can feel God in our hearts in our quiet times, or in church...but everyday, God is experienced through words, actions, deeds and thoughts. So many times we have heard, “It was the smallest, simplest act of kindness that had the most amazingly huge impact on my life.” This is why it is so important to share a smile or a kind word, because every person is a messenger of good. How God works to give hope and grace is a mystery. If he has to give it through someone we trust, until we can again trust in good, so be it. God does not have an ego. I choose to trust this move will be a good adventure and hope is what got me here.



Rev. Scherie Gates is the owner of The Green Room, a West Liberty-based place to stop, center, breathe, relax, balance and receive guided solutions. She is also a speaker and ordained interfaith minister and performs weddings, baptisms and funeral services. For more information, visit www.scheriegates.org.