Hope and a Future
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 29:11-13
Author: Dorothy Haverbusch (Ohio, US)
Author: Dorothy Haverbusch (Ohio, US)
Tuesday 9 June 2026 © The Upper Room.
For many years, I worked with lost and troubled young people in a juvenile detention centre.
I often prayed that I would be able to plant a seed in these young people that would eventually bear fruit in their lives. A number of years after I retired, I received a letter from a young woman with whom I had worked more than ten years before.
She thanked me for caring about her at a difficult time in her life, and she wanted to let me know about her life today. She was happily married with two children, living a faith-filled Christian life, working as an advocate at an AIDS clinic and attending college.
Later we met up, and in the course of our conversation, I asked her how she had come so far when many in similar circumstances had not made positive changes in their lives. She answered simply, ‘I found God.’
At a turning point in her life, she had prayed for guidance and was blessed with a path when she came across this verse: ‘You make known to me the path of life’ (Psalm 16:11, NIV). Today, her faith, the word of God, her Christian husband and her church encourage her to lead a fruitful life.
When I met that confused young girl many years ago, only God could know that one day she would inspire me to persevere on His path.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for guidance when we most need it, and thank you also for the grace to follow that guidance. Amen
