I'm sitting here reading about the world's latest craziness. (What is going to happen next?!?) And I'm wondering where those the nice Advent feelings are that I used to be able locate inside myself. "Maybe, this year, there will be peace." "Oh, look, there are the signs of hope (or joy, or love)." Right now, I'm not feeling very hopeful.
I remembered something I'd written about hope in The Uncluttered Heart and share it here:
Hope isn't a simple, sweet sentiment or an unreachable goal. Hope's a bit risky -- it's not based on and doesn't rely on some kind of secret-handshake promise from God. Our hoping does not mean that everything will turn out the way we want it to.
Hope is, instead, a spiritual practice, appropriate any time but especially during the season of Advent. We wait and hope for the coming of Christ into the world. We hope even when it doesn't feel like it's going to make a difference. We hope because we are children of God, children of hope. ...
When we hope, we align ourselves more closely with the God of the Universe -- the eternal force of good, of hope and love and peace.
Carry these words in your heart today: I am God's partner in hope.
From The Uncluttered Heart by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2009 by The Upper Room. Used with Permission.
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