FEBRUARY Mini-Series: Roots of New Strength

🌿 What Hope Is Made Of

The Ingredients That Help Hearts Grow Strong

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” — Romans 15:13

Last week, I wrote about how roots grow quietly underground, just as our healing takes small, quiet, and sometimes unseen steps. Now I will explore what helps those roots grow into hope that can be both seen and felt. Hope grows from many small things. It’s somewhat like a recipe (one where you don’t necessarily measure each ingredient). So, just like plants need varying amounts of water and sunlight, hearts need certain things to grow hope and healing.

The Ingredients of Hope

💛 Love — The First Root of Hope

Love makes children feel safe enough to heal.

“Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” — Romans 8:39

Going through the death or illness of a loved one can be incredibly traumatizing, but through the care of loving adults, warm hugs, kind words, and understanding, children can receive an important ingredient to hope and healing. I know that the love from my family and extended family brought me through the death of my daddy when I was 8 years old. I was immediately scared, confused, and worried for my family after realizing Daddy was gone. Our extended family came alongside us and provided the support we needed through love, hugs, a place to stay, meals, and providing for our needs. Love is the soil where healing begins. And God’s love never leaves, especially during tragedy.

🌱 Memory — Love That Stays With Us

Remembering keeps love alive and brings comfort.

“I remember you in my prayers.” — 2 Timothy 1:3

Sometimes I feel like my life has been many days of looking back at the past. I’m not saying that as a negative thing. I realize that we need to live in the present and towards the future with eternity in mind. But my point here is this: my memories help me heal – continually. Even today, when my mom or a sibling brings up a memory about my daddy, it brings a smile… or a laugh… or a realization about myself. Remembering those we love is an exercise in healing. Happy memories warm our hearts. I sometimes think God has kept sad memories out of my brain for a reason. I know there were some tough times, and some people have really awful memories they have to wrestle with, but I believe God meant to give us memory as a gift.

✨ Presence — You Are Not Alone

God stays close, even when feelings are heavy.

“God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

My faith in Christ and His timing in my early life are hugely responsible for helping me through the loss of Daddy. My parents took us to Sunday school, church, and church activities every week. One random Sunday in November when I was 8 years old, I stepped out from behind the church pew and walked up front to the pastor of our church. I was responding to God’s call for me to accept Him into my heart and life. I had actually listened to the pastor’s message and felt God was calling me to make that lifetime decision, and I meant it. I know my parents were surprised, possibly because of my age or maybe because I hadn’t talked to them about it ahead of time, but I remember that I understood what I was doing and didn’t have a doubt in my mind that I wanted Jesus in my heart. It was 6 months later that my daddy was killed in a farm accident. God had prepared me with the knowledge of His presence at all times. Friends, you are never alone. God is with you everywhere. Even when you don’t “feel” Him, His quiet presence brings peace to your heart and soul. In nature. On a pew bench. In the silence that fills your bedroom before sleep comes. After a tragedy hits that takes away your breath.

🤝 Community — People Who Help Us Grow

Hope grows stronger when shared.

“Carry each other’s burdens.” — Galatians 6:2

I grew up near a small town of around 1,200 people. It was a place where I felt safe and secure. After Daddy’s death and our move close to town from the farm, we were out at night until the street lights came on. We rode our bikes or walked everywhere. I had both sets of grandparents and both sides of cousins, aunts, and uncles in the same community. I know how blessed I was! But we also had friends, our church family, the school, and helpers all around the community who knew a 37-year-old woman with 5 children had just lost her husband. Safe people help hearts feel strong. We should all help others in need in whatever small way we can, because God gives us each other.

📖 Scripture — God’s Words That Grow Hope

God’s promises help hearts stay strong.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105

When I was in elementary school, we used to sing a song at Vacation Bible School. One of the verses stated, “The Word of God we salute today, the Bible tried and true…to God’s own book we will ever look…” I learned at a young age that God provides what we need through His Holy Bible. The Bible reminds us of truth in an age where truth seems harder than ever to discern with all the voices aimed at us. With all the noise coming at us, God speaks comfort and hope to us when we take the time to read it. Scripture helps direct us when our feelings are tender or hard, and when we feel numb because of tragic circumstances, God shows us HIS heart through His Word.

🌸 Bringing It Together in Healing — Hope Is Growing

• Hope is gained through many small steps.

• Love, memories, presence, community, and Scripture lead to roots growing stronger.

• Even when children cannot feel hope yet, it is still forming.

Hope grows slowly, quietly, and faithfully—just like roots.

💛 A Simple Reflection for Children

Here are a few questions you might ask a child (ages 4-10):

• When do you feel most loved?

• What is a happy memory that makes you smile?

• When do you feel God is close to you?

• Who helps you feel safe and cared for?

• What Bible verse makes you feel safe?

🎨 Drawing / Activity Idea

“A Recipe for Hope”

Invite a child (ages 4-10) to draw:

A bowl, heart, or garden labeled “Hope.”

Inside he/she draws/writes:

• Love 💛

• Memories 🌱

• God ✨

• Family 🤝

• Bible 📖

Explain to the child: These are the ingredients helping hope grow in your heart.

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” — Psalm 31:24

“Let us hold tightly to hope.” — Hebrews 10:23 (simplified)

Next week, we will discover how hope begins to bloom into courage.

📚 More Hope-Filled Resources, Just for You

Recent MUST READ: Even the Ashes Bloom by Sarah S. Brown

The journey from ashes to bloom isn’t linear.

It’s two steps forward, one step back, and a whole lot of gray in between.

This book captures that in the most honest and hopeful way.

It shows that even when life doesn’t play out the way we imagined, God is still tender with us—still present, still planting new life in the soil of what we’ve lost.

Grab your preorder here: https://a.co/d/9OHkPOe

Check out my website at https://marygracejohnsonauthor.com and download the “Seven Affirmations of Hope” for free.

I also have two collaborative books available on Amazon:
Hope for the Holidays: Stories and Traditions for a Peaceful Season (2024) and the new 365-day devotional, A Year of Hope (2025).

🔜 To be released this spring!

And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope, my picture book

An accompanying hope activity journal, Sunlight for the Soul: A Hope Journal for Kids Walking Through Sadness (ages 4-10)

🎉 I will be looking for launch team members to participate in this book release where there will be giveaways, behind-the-scenes updates, and early access to the book!