Faith for Today, Hope for Tomorrow

I was traveling recently to visit my Grandmother who is fighting leukemia at 83 years of age. As I was driving, I was listening to a recording of a friend of ours, he had given a talk on the subject of hope. It seems when hope is mentioned in scripture is it referring to things in the future. But when faith is mentioned it is referring to things of the present.

2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we walk by faith and not by sight."

2 Timothy 4:7
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

His talk got me thinking about my Grandmother, my Great-Grandmother and my Mother.
My Great-Grandmother was a Swedish immigrant who after moving to America as a young woman, never returned to her homeland. She never saw her mother or most of her family again. Times were so different then with no telephones, email, facetime, skype or webcams and communication was done primarily through letter writing. My family has many of the letters which my Great-Grandmother wrote home to Sweden and they have been translated from Swedish. In those letters is expressed the heartbreak of homesickness and longing. Buried in one of those letters is one line which still resounds in my heart many years after first reading them. I am paraphrasing that line here because I would have to go through every letter to find the exact line but it says something like this "if not for the hope of Glory, I would not be able to endure the heartache of missing you all".
While listening to the audio of our friend speaking it struck me that the legacy my Great-Grandmother, my Grandmother and my Mother have tried to instill in us all, is a legacy of faith and hope. They have instilled in us a faith in God, a faith which helps get us through today and the trials of life. But in addition to faith they have tried to point us towards hope, hope for Eternity, hope for Glory, hope for tomorrow. What a beautiful legacy to leave for those you love. In the end, isn't what really matters knowing that your loved ones know the Lord and Savior Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior? I know it is for me. I only hope I can leave a legacy of faith and hope for my children. I am so grateful that three incredible ladies loved me enough to pass on that legacy to me. Thank you Ma, I can't wait to meet you in Glory, and Thank you Nana and Thank you Mom. I love you with all my heart.