Hope

         What does it matter? Where is the purpose in life? I wondered as I sat on my bed. Is this all there is? Live for a short while, then just fade away into nothingness? It's all so meaningless!
         "Roy! Time for dinner!" my mom called from the kitchen.
         I trudged into the kitchen, still thinking. My mom had her back to me. Don't you see? I asked her silently. Don't you see how pointless it all is? How do you keep on living? Give me answers! Tell me where I can find purpose! Tell me something that matters!
         My mom didn't answer. She handed me my food, and I took it into the living room. My dad sat watching TV.
          How do you fend off this darkness? What keeps you alive, keeps you going? I questioned him in my head. He offered no answers.
         RING RING!
         I heard my mom pick up the phone in the other room. She paused for a moment.
         "Roy! It's for you!"
         I took the phone from her.
         "Hello?"
         "Hey man! Wanna spend the night at my house tonight?"
         "Sure thing, Arthur. I'll be right over."
         I packed an overnight bag, then my mom drove me over to my friend's house. We spent the evening playing Super Nintendo.
         The next morning, my friend invited me to go to church with him. Hesitantly, I agreed.
         We walked in and went to Sunday School. As the teacher spoke, a thought occurred to me: Churches are supposed to be places of hope, aren't they? Maybe these people come here to find hope! Maybe I can find something REAL here.
         I sat through Sunday School, listening. I talked to a few of the people. We went to the main church service, and I tried to listen there as well. My attention waned, however, as I slowly began to realize: these people have no hope. Their lives have no more purpose than mine does. I listened to their voices and heard only dull, droning speech. The words they said tried to convince me that they had found life and meaning. But their voices betrayed them. They had no life. They had no meaning. Church, it seemed, was just another dead end in my search for hope.

         A few years later...

         "Hey, Roy. Want to come to Youth Group with me tonight?"
         I considered. My friend Patrick had told me a little about his church's youth group. It sounded okay.
         "Yeah. I'll meet you there."
         I went to the youth group and had a blast. We played fun games. Afterwards, Patrick asked me if I wanted to talk to Dave, the Youth Pastor. I agreed.
         Dave talked with me, telling me about God and His Son, Jesus. He told me how Jesus died for me, and he prayed with me. For the first time in my life, I met God. Before, I had imagined God as someone who didn't really care about me, who just lived in outer space somewhere and did His own thing.
         Once I met God, I found that He did care about me. My heart was filled with joy as I realized one very important thing: He loved me more than I could imagine. My search ended, and my true life began....