How to Find Hope this Holiday
“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.” (Okay maybe not tigers but the mountain lions and bears where we live are enough to scare me silly.)
And it is dark in the mountains. I don’t know if you know that. But it is a dark! We live in a parsonage on a church property that encompasses 28 acres of mountain. So it gets really dark.
It took Dave and I over month before we first sat out on our deck at night. And when we did, it wasn’t alone but with some natives and we believe they might have been packing.
Seems kind of silly when you have moved to a beautiful mountain home and have more deck space then you ever dreamed possible. But at night, I would stand in the protective confines of my home, stare out my windows and sing, “It always feels like somebody’s watching me!” (A little 80’s Rockwell to start your day, thanks Sis for the help on that one.)
A hike last week on the property after a snow….
In the light, I am fine because I can see what is around the corner. But the darkness of night is another story.
Darkness has a way of weighing down our souls, does it not?
We turn our clocks back and begin counting down the days till we have more sunlight and spring ahead.
The darkness of this year, thank you coronavirus, has also seemed to squash our HOPE. Now more than ever we are more alone in that darkness.
That is why lighting the advent candle of HOPE, in my opinion, might be the hardest, but most important, candle to light this year.
So how do we find HOPE this holiday? The answer is simple.
See the light.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.
- Isaiah 9:2
The Word [Jesus] gave life to everything that was created and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.-John 1:4-5
Jesus came.
Jesus is the light.
Which means the light came.
Light overcomes the darkness.
And nothing can extinguish the light.
What good news! What hope we have this holiday! If we can just let the light do its job in our lives and overcome the darkness. Moment by moment. Hour by hour. Step by step.
Let’s let Jesus light up our homes, our souls and our lives with his HOPE.
As a mom at the holidays, I feel like I have to create the light. Create the hope. Create the joy for my family.
But in a study I have been doing entitled, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel by Lifeway, I was so blessed by what Erin Ivey penned.
“The hope and joy of this season is not yours to create.”
Let that sink in for a minute. Read it slowly. The hope and joy of this season is not yours to create. I felt so freed by that statement.
The hope of the holidays this year… is not mine to create, but it is mine to behold.
It’s mine to see and it is as easy as lighting a candle in a dark room or switching on a light.
Because the light always overcomes the darkness, even the smallest and weakest light.
So let’s see the light and seek it. Let’s cling to the light and count on it. Let’s engage in and encounter Jesus.
Hope is the gift God came to bring us, but it is ours to behold.
So go ahead and strike the match.
Let’s See the Light (Click for a song by Hillsong to get you movin’).
If you need help or prayer, two are stronger than one. Please reach out and Say Hello. I would love to pray for you this holiday season to behold hope and see the light.