Hope Heals

"Hope Heals" by Katherine and Jay Wolf

This is a powerful book about a 20 something woman who had a major stroke 6 months after having a baby.  It is a story of amazing miracles, hard work, and a tenacious spirit.  Katherine chose to fight to live for her son, she chose to find hope in the One that heals.  Jay, her husband, lives out his marraige vows, never leaving Katherine's side, helping her to regain her life.  The struggle and beautiful love this couple shares is truly inspirational. "I suppose in that moment, I realized that when we most need our intangible God to be made tangible, we need look no further than His people to make him manifest."  We need to be the hands and feet of our loving God.  And when we are in crisis we need to remember that God is with us in the people surrounding us.  "Perhaps in the breaking, we can find the healing we long for."  To truly be healed is to face the fact that we are broken and need healing.  It is here that we find His grace and love to put us back together again.   "In fact, the whole miracle thing really stung because the "miracle" had left me unable to live normally."  Katherine lived through her ordeal and it was a miracle that she was even alive.  But being alive she was left without many normal functions and the life as she knew it was gone.  People on the outside see the miracle but don't see the daily struggle to live with that miracle.  "To know you will be saved, even if you don't dare envision how, is to have the wick of hope rekindled."  "I have come to realize that believing in God is not possible without also believing God.  He says He is my hope and strength, and I am taking Him at His word."  We have to know who He is, is character and believe what He says is true.  "I don't think any of us can tell our most vulnerable stories in the moments they occur for fear that they may undo us.  We have to wait until we are in a season of safety before we can open up our deepest wounds."  "I found that acting in love inevitably provoked true feelings of love, and the reverse was no less true."  Love is not just an emotion, it is so much more.  Love often takes action even when we don't feel like it.  This, this is when real love takes hold, to act out love when the feelings aren't there.  When we do this, love-the emotion- is sure to follow.  "When we collectively mourn our losses and strain toward hope, our hearts expand.  We begin to respond with empathy and realize that we all share the story of brokenness, and thus we all share the need for hope."  Truly an inspiring story filled with hope for all of our brokenness.