Hope Deferred

Infertility affects nearly 6.1 million women and 2.1 million married couples in the United States. Additionally, 25 percent of women of childbearing age will experience a miscarriage and one in 80 pregnancies will end in a stillbirth. In Hope Deferred, we hear the voices of five female scholars from a variety of Christian denominations--Church of the Brethren, Disciples of Christ, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic--as they share their very private stories of painful loss in the hope of bringing comfort and a theological understanding to those who have experienced reproductive loss.

Hope Deferred, initially published in 1965 traces the history of girls’ education from Anglo-Saxon England to modern times, telling the story largely through the leading personalities whose opinions and prejudices shaped this history. It outlines the progress of popular education and the work of the pioneers who fought to bring girls’ education at every level into line with boys’; and it carries the story into the second half of the twentieth-century to discuss the problem of whether girls are really receiving the right kind of education.

Hope. Hope is one thing that strengthens us. Hope keeps us going and keeps us moving forward. Hope pushes us through the hard times. Sometimes hope is that last thread we are holding onto or is the only thing that gets us out of bed in the morning. We hope for a better life. We hope for fulfilled dreams. And in the end, we hope for an eternal reward. Many things we desire come easily. Others may take a bit more time and effort. And when that desire is met, what joy! But life is not perfect. Sometimes life just seems difficult and overwhelming. Life for Alane was that difficult and overwhelming. Hope Deferred is a true account of a young mother who has high expectations for life with her family. However, things were not turning out as expected. As hopelessness began to set in, bad turned to worse when she began to die from the inside out from a strange, life-threatening illness. Getting help was a struggle. But she remembered God's promises. In the heat of the battle, she held onto them, hoped for and believed them, her husband held onto them, and when they were unable, the community of believers united and held onto them. Family is told Alane won't make it through the night. Will her husband say his last goodbye? Will her six young children be left without a mother? Does God really hear us? Does God still do the miraculous in these modern times? Journey along with her in her heartache, walk of faith, and experience of the miraculous. aEURoeHope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of lifeaEUR (Proverbs 13:12).

Hope Deferred Makes the Heart Sick, Proverbs 13:12

Tonya R. Williams knows all about hope being deferred and the years of confusion and it can cause. She had to discover through her life journeys and God's countless revelations what her true mission and purpose really consisted of, all the while not quite understanding the real purpose of God. This was in addition to raising her three boys and dealing with unique challenges that raising three boys presented. What was a new Christian to do? Tonya developed a hunger for God's Word that superseded all the ups and downs happening within her life. She had become so well-learned in the Scriptures that she felt compelled to share the knowledge with many others. This is what she did. She shared with others the many biblical lessons she had learned, mainly to help new and seasoned Christian really grow into their calling to please God. Tonya explains all Christians have a calling that the Father has placed on their lives. The issue is whether or not Christians choose to live, obediently. She passionately explains whether or not some choose to live obediently or disobediently and the eternal consequence of each choice. She challenges you to determine, is your hope really deferred? She puts forth, are you living obediently before God? She carefully describes the blessings and fallouts of each believer's choices. Tonya's explanation of obedience is found in her book. In her book, you will learn the pitfalls of disobedience and the gifts of obedience. You will not feel comfortable being the person you were before reading her book.

There is something about suffering for a long time that short bouts of pain cannot achieve. You simply get worn down. You begin to lose confidence in yourself to problem solve. Your ability to shoot from the hip keeps failing. Your friends have run out of advice, the faded instruction manual is dog-eared and you feel forever stuck on hold. Keeping me blindfolded and trusting God for every step would eventually force me to hang on tight and lean in to hear him whisper. That bridge, the transition from the life I knew to the one I am living now, was just plain tough. Nothing but the long weariness of the journey would rid me of my self-sufficiency and allow him to take the reins. Your sorrow either leads you away from God because you have your own sense of justice, or it drives you to him because he is a good God who has a wonderful plan for you and who can be trusted. I have discovered the latter to be true.

There was one thing in life Hawk Sheridan wanted, and that was to be a doctor. A few months short of his goal, he found himself in the baggage car of a train. He was kicked out of medical school and sent home packing""another dream up in smoke. Life had been one obstacle after another. Each time, he picked himself up and with God's help began again. He just didn't think he could do it anymore. His troubles were never about who he was, but of what he was. Lakota blood ran through his veins, and it was evident in his appearance. He could only get so far before someone made it an issue. Avery Stockton's life was one of deception. The only living witness to her family's murder, she lived in fear under a false identity. The killers vowed they would find her, and after seventeen years, they were getting close. Secluded in a Baltimore hospital as a nurse, Avery was under the watchful eye of her uncle Dr. Victor Stockton. When it became necessary to move Avery, there was no better place than the Dakota Territory. Hawk Sheridan had the means and the know-how to hide her in obscurity. Would Hawk be willing to help Avery when she suddenly showed up on his doorstep? Is Hawk ready for the climb of his life? Will the care of Avery stand in the way of fulfilling his dreams or destroy them?