Hope

The focus on Advent this week, this anticipation of Christ's coming, is HOPE.  The definition of hope is "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen." We have all hoped for something to happen in our lives, whether it be in the here and now, temporal, or whether it is something big that we feel will change our lives for the better.  Two days ago I was swimming and we were doing a workout...my legs were burning and I was already feeling like lead in the water.  I asked my friend, "with or without fins?"  In my head I repeated over and over again, "please say with fins, please say with fins, please say with fins!' I didn't get the result I wanted, but I'm sure my legs are better for it...maybe.

I have friends here in TN that hoped and prayed and waited for a child.  I know this is the story for many couples, but it doesn't make it less hard.  I prayed for them, hoped for them, grieved with them, hurt for them...and it was hard to understand why someone's deepest desire was not met by our loving God.  When our hearts are crying out for something that we feel will make us better or more whole, it's hard to hope...it's hard to believe that goodness will come for us too.

And yet, last October, Dana Claire entered our lives and continues to exude hope and joy every time I see her.  I look at her and hope is reborn.  She is a bright light to all of us.  She is a precious gift and I don't think we could have imagined what joy she brings to life.

If we are all honest, there is something deep within our hearts that we ponder and wonder about...that we think may be realized one day.  And sometimes darkness wins and we try to throw that hope away and just sit in our sulky places and whine about what isn't being fulfilled. 
Maybe hope for us truly comes when we see hope realized in others and embrace it.  We turn from our own deep longings in order to see how God is fulfilling the longings of our world.

When Mary went to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth's response was not to brag about how she had become pregnant at such an advanced age, but to rejoice at what God had done in Mary.  Elizabeth's joy came from realizing the hope of the world was near.  Maybe that's the preparation we need in our own lives.  Embrace another's joy today and it will become your own.