在2020年，住在美國東岸的愛麗做了一項DNA檢測，結果發現與西岸的一名男子高度匹配。後來，她和女兒們翻查1950年代的新聞資料，推斷該男子應該就是愛麗失散多年的舅舅洛毅！在1951年，洛毅在公園遭人誘拐時，年僅六歲。在洛毅失蹤70年後，愛麗進行的這項DNA檢測，最終讓洛毅能與自己的親人團聚。愛麗說：「我們把這個故事分享出去，或許能幫助其他的家庭……我想說的是，不要放棄！」

七十年是漫長的歲月，要一直心存盼望實在很不容易。當耶利米和猶大百姓聽見上帝說，他們要「服事巴比倫王七十年」（耶利米書25章11節），他們一定傷心欲絕，恐懼萬分。但他們之前總是不肯聽從上帝，不肯「離開惡道和所作的惡」（5節），「以致他們令人驚駭、嗤笑」（9節）。耶利米書記載，百姓因不聽從上帝，而被上帝譴責三十多次。雖然七十年的煎熬看似遙遙無期，但上帝會與他們同在，更應許這段艱難時期終有結束的一天（29章10節）。

當我們面對接踵而來的難關時，可能很難信靠上帝，但別忘了，上帝愛我們，並應許祂會與我們同在（30章11節）。讓我們聽從祂、滿心期盼地等候祂，那麼我們就能堅定地持守盼望。

Alida took a DNA test in 2020 and discovered a strong match to a man living on the opposite coast of the US. Later, she and her daughters found news articles from the 1950s that led them to conclude that the man was Alida’s long-lost uncle, Luis! He’d been abducted from a park in 1951 when he was six years old. That DNA test, taken seventy years after Luis’ disappearance, eventually led to a happy reunion with his biological family members. Alida said, “With [our] story out there, it could help other families . . . . I would say, don’t give up.”

Seventy years is a long time to keep hope alive. Jeremiah and the people of Judah must have been heartbroken and fearful when God said they would “serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11). But they hadn’t listened to God and turned from their “evil ways and . . . practices” (v. 5), which had deformed them into “an object of horror and scorn” (v. 9). The people were condemned more than thirty times in Jeremiah for not listening to Him. Seventy years might have felt like forever, but God would be with them, and He promised that the hard season would eventually end (29:10).

As we face challenging seasons that seem to go on and on, let’s remember that while we may struggle to trust God, He promises that He’s with us and loves us (30:11). As we listen to Him and wait expectantly, we can find hope.