I had my six-week postop appointment on Wednesday. I was looking forward to good news. My greatest hope was that the x-rays taken last week showed all was well with the surgery. They did. My second greatest hope was that I could stop wearing the neck brace, especially at night so that I could go back to sleeping in a bed on my side. The doctor told me I could “wean” off the neck brace at my own speed.

Freedom from the brace! Yes! Well, not exactly. Six weeks in a neck brace tends to weaken the muscles. I found that a few hours without it and I needed to be back in it for a while. “Wean” is probably the key word. This is going to take some work.

Then I discovered that going back to sleeping in a bed on my side again without a brace wasn’t as comfortable as I expected. In fact, I think I warped my body with six-weeks in a neck brace sleeping on my back in a recliner. I am back to the recliner, although without the brace.

This was not exactly what I hoped for. But then in life we don’t always get exactly what we hope for. Our hope is often infiltrated by contingencies, circumstances, and unanticipated problems.

Not so with our confident hope of salvation! “This hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” [Romans 5:4-5 NLT]

God loved us when we were still His enemies, still sinners. He gave us His best in the sacrifice of His Son for our salvation. The hope we now have in Him never ever leads to disappointment. It is always MORE than we can think or imagine!