“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Hope. I’m not sure about you but the word hope and I have had quite the complicated relationship this year. I find myself talking and thinking about having hope one day and the next I want to give up any hope I have had the previous day.
Hope is kind of like faith, you can’t see it but you can feel it and believe it but it isn’t easy. There have been lots of times in 2020 when I have felt hopeful, it hasn’t all been bad. There was that time the waters in Venice started clearing and pollution went down because we were all on lock down and the time my dad made it out alive from a life-threatening bout with bacterial meningitis or the time my best friends baby was born healthy after some very scary ultrasounds and doctor visits. There has also been news of a vaccine for Covid-19 that will soon be available that brings lots of hope and hey, the Tennessee Titans are even having a winning season after way too many awful ones. Hope may be harder to find this year but it is there and if we stop and take a moment to look at the good and not focus on the negative, scary, anxiety inducing things going on around us, we will see it, and feel it and all will be right in that moment.
Just like hope might be like faith, hope is also about waiting for or, anticipating something like the Advent season. During advent we await the coming of the Christ child and prepare our hearts to do just that. We are full of hope, joy, peace and love during this season and in my opinion, Advent couldn’t come at a better time this year. I know the holidays are a lot different this year as we may not be able to safely gather with our loved ones as usual but no matter what happens this year, Christ will still be born this Christmas and we have so much hope to hold on to.
As you prepare your own heart and your home, for this Advent and Christmas season remember that there is so much to be hopeful for in this world, even if it means we have to sift through a lot of ugly, scary, anxious things to find it.