In these first days of Advent, the time in which we prepare to welcome once again the birth of Jesus into our lives and into our world,
we ponder the word hope.
I invite to pause for a few moments each day,
and ask yourself, What is hope?
Here are some of my thoughts.
Hope is wanting something to happen.
It is a deep desire, something that you want so badly.
But it is more than that.
Hope is trust that somehow things will work out.
It is believing that good things can & will come.
It is knowing that God is with us and that God loves us.
and trusting in that loving presence
to sustain us through the joys, sorrows and challenges of life.
But it is more than a desire within.
Hope is not a to-do list which we hand to God,
and then keep our fingers crossed that God will do these things for us.
Hope is not a letter to Santa, with fondest and sometimes frivolous wishes shared,
with the thought that, in some magical fashion, one or two of them might come true.
Hope is not a wish-list.
Hope engages us.
Hope is setting out an intention,
and seeking to bring our intention
in line with God’s intention our lives and for the world.
We pray our hopes, we set the intention of our hopes,
and then we work together with God toward the mending, tending, and creating
required in our lives and in this world toward making those hopes reality.
Hope involves many tears as well as some disappointment and frustration.
Things don’t always work out the way we hope,
and, yet, in the deeper hope that develops as we engage with God,
things may work out in ways we don’t expect,
or lead down paths that bring blessings we couldn’t have imagined.
Hope that sustains us must be rooted in an ever deepening faith.
Hope is trust that somehow things will work out in the realm of God’s love.
It is believing that good things will come as we work together with God.
It is knowing that God is with us and that God loves us.
and trusting in that loving presence
to sustain us through the joys, sorrows and challenges of life.
Hope.
May you discover God’s gift of hope, deep and sustaining hope,
as you prepare yourself to welcome Christ this Christmas.
December 4, 2017 ©Susan Lukey 2017
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