Living Hope

Sarah Williams went to her doctor for what was to be a routine ultrasound for her pregnancy.

The news was not routine. Their unborn daughter, Cerian, had a skeletal disorder that usually results in stillbirth or death.

Yet, hope persisted.

Williams wrote a book detailing the struggle called Perfectly Human: Nine Months with Cerian. Amid the dark cloud, friends recorded Cerian’s heartbeat. Friends crafted keepsakes.

Shortly before birth, Cerian died. Family and friends came together and dressed the body and looked at a face that would never smile.

Williams records, “She was what a human being is to be, someone whose life summons love.” Even her name, Cerian, means “beloved one.”

Hope does not mean the absence of suffering but knowing that death never has the final word. It’s knowing that there’s more to life than the end, but what happens in between.

Hope confuses most of us. It is not a wish but a conviction.

Where does hope come from?

• People who point us in the right direction.
• Christ, who takes us to the end.

Do you have hope?