We’re currently staying in an Airbnb in an historic neighborhood. The uneven sidewalks require me to keep my eyes down when I go for my morning walk. While this downward gaze ensures my safety, it also keeps me from seeing the beauty around me. When a friend joined me for a walk, she pointed out a beautiful garden at one house, a restored porch at another, and a glorious old oak tree at the end of the street. She called attention to the beauty that was already there and was mine to see if I would only lift my eyes.

But it’s not just our literal eyes that get pulled down. The events of the last several weeks have threatened to cast our emotional and spiritual gaze downward, too. Understandably so. We’ve been driven to our knees to intercede for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan. We have watched Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans exactly sixteen years after Katrina. The Delta variant continues to spread. Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. And the list goes on.

But God never leaves us without hope or help. As both Kathryn Butler and Bethany Barnard share their experiences with doubt and despair as a result of suffering, they remind us that God never leaves us without hope. Like a good friend walking beside us, they point us to the glory of God’s faithfulness and remind us of the hope that is ours in Christ. May we lift our eyes and see.

Much love,