I’ve been working on my Christmas wish list:
I wish my son would put down his phone.
I wish David and I could go one week without a fight.
I wish my bank account was a little more robust headed into the gift-giving season.
I wish I could have one more Christmas with my mom.
I wish I could get out ahead of this looming deadline.
I wish I could beat level 95 in Candy Crush.
I have lots of wishes without much expectation of them coming true. But maybe that’s why the Christmas season can be so difficult. We wish things were better or different or more meaningful or less chaotic, but deep down we know that life will be hard and messy no matter how much we wish otherwise.
God, however, offers something way more substantial than a wish. He offers hope. Israel had hope for the promised Messiah. They expected God to come through for them because He had promised to. And as we celebrate Jesus’ birth we also can have hope. Hope that God has not left us alone in the messiness of life. Hope that we really can become people who love without fear and without demand. Hope that life can be about so much more than being comfortable and having a good time. Christ still offers us hope, today. And we can expect God to keep His promises.
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Today’s post was written by Jennifer Holsted. She says:
I’ve been at Fellowship North for 22 years. I love the fact that so much of my life has been shaped by the people of Fellowship North. I rediscovered my faith here, met my husband and married him here, am raising a child here, am working a job I love here, and am deeply loved here.