September 28th

“From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” Hosea 2:15a

so many valleys—
where grief wears a path
through our hearts,
where hard news comes
far too often,
where we worry that
hope has packed
its moving van.
yet, God always manages
to plant gardens in that soil
we think will only yield tears,
in those trouble-filled hearts
which, by grace, become doors
opening to the forgotten.
so, may doors of hope
open in a child learning
to step out in trust,
in neighbors choosing
to listen and not shout,
in caregiver holding the hand
of the lonely,
in hands which reach over
those walls we build
to keep others out, to welcome
them to our community.
perhaps hope is nothing more
than the door God opens
in the troubled valleys of life,
inviting us to walk through
together.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman