Earlier this week, I read the following in a post on the Naptime Diaries blog …
“Christmas is coming. People are celebrating. The twinkle lights are out and even though this is a season of materialism and buying and gifts, it’s also a season of seeing the really beautiful parts of community blossom and materialize. And if all else fails, for more people, if they go around the table and say what they’re thankful for, even if they’ve had the hardest year of their lives or they’re in the middle of a battle with no end – they will find a silver lining. They will cling to hope and look in the face of the unknown and believe the best, if even just for a moment.
For those of us who are in Christ, we know what that is. It isn’t hope in humanity or the magic of the season, or the goodwill of man. It’s the light of Christ. That He came and He is coming back. That He made things right and is still making them right.
It’s advent. It’s hope.
I am a hope junkie. And I love this season.”
I echo this same sentiment: I am a hope junkie. I’m grateful to wake up to a brand new day following a difficult one, I love the possibilities that exist as I think about the future, and I thrive on having things to look forward to in the midst of the mundane. Hope is woven into the fabric of my very being. It’s what keeps me thankful and what keeps me going and what keeps me encouraged and content in the day-to-day of life.
One line from the beloved Christmas song, “O Holy Night,” resonates with me on many levels this December: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices…” I am the weary one from a year of growing pains, but I am hopeful in the fact that the light is coming to the darkness, that all things are being made new, that something truly beautiful and glorious and joyful awaits. And as is always the case, what God has planned will be better than my wildest imaginings.
In Him, I place my hope and prepare to be thrilled by His wonders in this most magical season. May you, too, be filled with hope as Christmas approaches.