Week 20
Hope
We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4
When I started planning my wedding after getting engaged in January 2021, I didn’t know how bumpy the year would get. I imagined my parents traveling from Burma to be at my wedding, scheduled for January 2022. On February 1, 2021, the military coup took place in Yangon and in Nay Pyi Taw with the army tanks rolling in front of the public eye. For the next several months, I tried to juggle between work, exploring potential wedding venues, trying on several wedding dresses, and listening to the news at night about how protestors, including my friends, were beaten, and tear-gassed. It was difficult to weather and navigate conflicting emotions: joy and sadness, love and disgust, fear and courage. In the end, my parents could not make it to my wedding and the situation in Burma continues to be dismal. Yet, all these experiences helped us grow. We are more resilient. We care more about one another. We understand better that we live in a fallen world. We hold onto hope tighter than ever with the assurance that justice will surely be delivered by God although it is unseen for now.
Like a diamond being pressed or a clay pot being shaped in the hands of the Potter, You are shaping our character through hope. Hope drives us to be passionate about our personal and national freedom, in ways we probably never have imagined. Please use us as vessels to glorify You in our sufferings. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.