A Moment to Hope

It’s almost been one year!  To celebrate, next week, you will be able to download for free an excerpt of 30 Days of Peace and Praise, a compilation of this year’s best post with matching activities.  The complete book will be available for purchase by e-book and by hard copy soon.  

For Advent, we'll take on each element around the theme of "For Today".

Hope is passion for what is possible.

 - Soren Kierkegaard

In a season where we go from being thankful to thirsty for goods overnight, our mood seems a little schizophrenic.  We often move from sharing, feeding those less fortunate and spending quality time with loved ones to instant competition to best others in finding the perfect gift for these same loved ones.  How can we operate in this way, giving and taking in quick turn?  It seems rather, well, impossible to consider our own beauty, the grounding that has kept us, in the crazed moments.  The glimmer of hope seems to be yet diminishing in a season that is based around the very idea, each of us caught up in the frenzy of the present.  In the frenzy, we can lose ourselves, temporarily abandoning the morals we have come to know as our own foundation.

How can we return ourselves to that place of remembering the season?   We can be reminded of our space and place in this season by taking a moment to hope.  Henri Nouwen writes, in Out of Solitude, “A life without a lonely place, that is, a life without a quiet center, easily becomes destructive.”   Just a small minute to reflect on what the end of the year, what the moments of these holy days, what the coming of Christ truly means.  For many, this is a new beginning, a reminder that no matter what has transpired this year, there is no stronghold that can stay over you when it is time to move forward.

Understand that we are not here to be perfect, only to live the best we can in truth and love. Matthew 12:21 reads, "...and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”   Hoping sets the ambiance, the mood, the tone, the theme and our expectations of a situation.  Hope is the positive thought that changes our disposition, our mindset, our entire attitude toward the seasons of our lives.

Consider today taking the time to just remember the attitude we want to assume for this season in our lives. Write it down. When you feel things start to spiral or become a frenzied moment, read what you wrote as many times as necessary.