(The following is a talk presented to the Singles for Christ of Dela Strada Church on May 31, 2006 by Dr. Nelson C. Magnaye. Source of this presentation is the book of Max Lucado, Traveling Light.)

We have never been used to traveling light. "Laging handa!" is a Boy / Girl Scout motto we have took into our hearts seriously through the years. In life, just like in traveling, we cannot enjoy a vacation or any journey carrying so much stuff. The baggages we carry are not the ones made of leathers. They are the bags of guilt, discontent / want, weariness and fatigue, grief, loneliness, fear, arrogance and self-image and hopelessness.

How do we treat our life? It is not how life is treating us that matters but how we use the gifts, situations as well as the problems we have.

Imagine yourself in a thick, dark jungle. You are lost and alone. You do not know where to go: left or right? Would it be front or back? Time is running and you do not know how long it has been…1..2..3 hours have passed. You have no knife, no matches, no food. You are trapped. How would you feel? What emotions would surface? Fear? Anger? Anxiety? Hopelessness? You have no direction, no equipment, no HOPE…

For many people, life is a jungle. Jungles of failing health, broken hearts, empty wallets, demands from people around us, complaints of neighbors and our creditors. The bag of hopelessness, unlike other emotional baggage which is heavy is a painfully empty bag.

Are you in such a situation? Have you been in such a situation? What would restore our hope?

First, we need a PERSON, someone who is not equally confused like us. We need someone who knows the way out.

Second, we need a VISION that says: "This is not the end. Don’t give up! There is a better place than this."

Third and most important, we need a DIRECTION. If we only have a person, we only have company. If that person only has a vision, you are with a dreamer. If he has a direction, he can take you from this place to the right place. In so doing, he restores your HOPE.

David in the Psalms said "He restores my soul."

In Jesus, loneliness diminished because we have fellowship. Despair decreases because we have a vision and confusion is gone because we have direction. Wonderful picture, isn’t it?

Take note, that you haven’t left the jungle. The jungle is still the jungle. It hasn’t changed, but YOU have changed because you have HOPE. Our attitude is changed. It is true that we cannot change life’s situation, but we can change ourselves. It is easier. Jesus doesn’t give hope by changing the jungles; he restores our hope and promised to stay with us until the end. He said before he ascended into heaven that "I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

We need this reminder. We all need this reminder. For all of us need hope.

Some of you might not need this reminder now. There is no dark and lonely jungle in your life for now. But you may need this reminder tomorrow. For some, you need hope today. You know you are not equipped and you need someone to lead you out. He is just waiting for your request. He is just a prayer away.