The Sunday of Hope

As I sit in the dark, quiet of our home, the furnace casting its warmth via the deep rumble from the basement and the sound of the coffee running down, I am filled with Hope.  Today is the first Sunday of the Advent season and I have to say, I’m so excited. 

The thrill of hope,

a weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

~O Holy Night written by Adolphe Adam in 1847

Over the course of the last few years, Advent has played a bigger role in my life.  As I child I would watch various families in our church light the candles with such ceremony each Sunday as we drew closer and closer to Christmas.  Which, as a kid was the end goal, right? But now, as I grow older and maybe wiser, I see the work that needs to be done in my own heart before we reach that day.

The Christmas season can be so busy – the shopping, the baking, the visiting….All.The.Things.  But they are superficial.  They fill our time.  And for me, at this stage, right here, right now it is not about all that, it is about me and that tiny babe in the manager.  Just us.  Just our relationship.  Who do I say that He is?

And when I think about all that Jesus is to me, I feel giddy.  Today there will be one tiny, flickering candle lit.  That one flame filled with Hope.  Hope for so much and for so many.  Today I’m holding onto that Hope.  That as the Advent season progresses, I feel more and more ready for Christmas morning.

Yes, we are shopping.  Yes, Elfie is back. Yes, we’re doing all the typical Christmas stuff, but there is an underlaying thrumming in my heart.  A sense of good things to come.  A sense of Hope.

May you be filled with Hope today.  Hope that will carry you to the side of a rickety old cattle trough to find the most amazing gift, just wrapped up in some dingy old clothes but the one who can change the course of your life.  Today.  Now.  Forever.

To be continued,

Lori