In between is Hope.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 

~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 

The greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13) but let's talk about the word that sits in between faith and love: Hope.

I hope you have been following along with me and others in this Graffiti Summer challenge. God is doing some amazing things. It's not too late to join in on this study. This week our assignment was to open up to others. We were challenged to share from a deeper level which then gives others the freedom to do as well.

All week long I read the words of other Graffiti Summer writers. Hop over here and read what all these amazing ladies have shared. They all dared to be real. Over the past four weeks these writers have connected by leaving comments on each other's posts and giving shout outs on Twitter. New friendships are being formed. It's a beautiful thing.

One of the Graffiti Summer writers wrote on being addicted to connection. Stop in and read what Tammy Werthem @ iwokeupyesterday had to say. Her addiction to connection is contagious. In an earlier post Tammy got real and shared at a deeper level. As I write this morning I think of my new friend and the connection we've now made because she was real. She gave me hope by reminding me God never wastes a hurt.

Before I called it quits for the night I connected with another friend who asked me to write a guest post for her blog. Our connection has us brainstorming on bringing hope to those who struggle with worrying about how they are perceived by others. Oh what a familiar struggle.

My hurt for years has been worrying about how I'm perceived and believing I needed to be the same as others to fit in. This worrying has taken on many different forms with one of them being a long-time struggle with bulimia.

Yesterday, someone dared to be real. She then opened up the door for me to be real with her. Being real struck a chord with my friend Jessica @ Prayers and Apples to say come share your story on my page and let's bring hope to others. I've discovered my friend Tammy shared powerful truth when she said to me, "God will use this challenge with bulimia to heal you, so that you can lead others out of similar struggles."

The struggle is more than a struggle with bulimia but a struggle to believe that inside and out I am enough. It's a struggle so many have. The message I hope to deliver is one that reminds us all that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God and his works are wonderful. (Psalm 139:14)

This amazing leader of our Graffiti Summer challenge is right, freedom can be found when we get real.

Hope is found through connections because connections lead us and others to the one who gives us hope. Our hope comes from the Lord.

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Friends, I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker again for Five Minute Friday. Lisa has created a wonderful community where many others come together and write for five minutes on a prompt she provides. It's a beautiful thing. Today's prompt is: In Between. I need to keep it real and tell you I wrote for more than five minutes...much more. Once I got started I couldn't stop. I hope you don't mind me still linking up.