I dreamed a dream

I love the Broadway production of Les Miserables. I love the music and I love the story. It is a story based on a student rebellion in France. It's a story of sadness, heartache, betrayel, but also hope, love and ultimately salvation. The character I can identify with the most is Fantine. Our lives were very similar up to a point. She is abused and betrayed in the story and as she is dying finally finds someone to trust to raise her daughter. Just before she has a conversation with Jean Valjean, a convict who is trying to find redemption, she sings a song titled "I dreamed a dream".

There was a time when men were kind,
And their voices were soft,
And their words inviting.
There was a time when love was blind,
And the world was a song,
And the song was exciting.
There was a time when it all went wrong...

I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life, worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid,
No song unsung, no wine, untasted.

But the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart,
And they turn your dream to shame.

He slept a summer by my side,
He filled my days with endless wonder...
He took my childhood in his stride,
But he was gone when autumn came!

And still I dream he'll come to me,
That we will live the years together,
But there are dreams that cannot be,
And there are storms we cannot weather!

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed...
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...

I love this song. I know, for such a perky person as myself this seems like a very dreary song. But I think there are times when every person can relate to this. There are times when we feel like everything has fallen apart and is shattered beyond repair. Struggling to raise a child on my own, in a depressed economy, there have been many times this song fit my life to a T. There have been times when I listened to this song with a tender heart, sobbing as my life was described.
Fantine and I differ in what happens when the song ends. Fantine dies, never seeing her daughter again. I stand up, dust myself off and move forward.
Why is my ending different even though we went through the same thing? Hope.
I have a personal relationship with my Savior. I know that my name is engraven on the palms of His hands. I am purchased at an infinite price. I have the hope of better things because my Lord has promised me that. I have the promise of a large shady tree at the end my journeys. A tree whose fruit is most desirable, sweet above all that is sweet. I also have the knowledge that at every step of my way He is there. Everytime I fall He is there to help me up and dust me off. I have seen the face of God and I know of His love for me. Even in my darkest moments He has been that tiny glimmer of Light that kept me going.
Hope is a wonderful thing "Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. "
Have you ever wanted to find hope? To have a better relationship with your Savior? Talk to me, I know some great young men I would love to introduce you to.