
Well I haven’t written a blog post in years. Honestly I just don’t have the free time that I used to. But I’ve been meditating on hope these past few weeks and I really felt like sharing what I’ve been learning. So for whoever needs a little encouragement, I hope this post blesses you.
It all started with my pastor’s first sermon for Advent. Advent always starts with looking at Hope. But I hadn’t realized why we celebrate Advent when we do. I’d heard rumors of pagan traditions and the winter solstice and that Jesus was actually born sometime in the Spring. But my pastor said celebrating the birth of Christ in December was intentional. It’s the darkest time of the year (for the northern hemisphere at least), and when everything seems dead and gloomy, that’s when Christ enters the picture and brings hope. And then after Christmas it gets brighter and brighter.
And I totally get it, as fall turns to winter and we have less and less daylight, it’s depressing. But then when suddenly all of these Christmas lights get put up, it’s not so gloomy, instead it’s cheerful. I know a lot of people have had a rough year in 2020 and many decided to start celebrating Christmas early. Many of my friends had their Christmas trees up before Thanksgiving, and my neighborhood is lit up with many more lights than in the past. It’s like we all need a reason to have hope. And that’s what Christ is. He knew we couldn’t fix this broken messed up world, that we were dying and lost and hopeless. So He came down, He entered in. God became man. What a miracle!
On top of this new revelation for why we celebrate Jesus’s coming at this time of year, I also found out that two planets, Saturn and Jupiter will be the closest they have been in 800 years, forming a bright “Christmas Star” this Monday December 21st. You can learn more by going here.
When I heard about it, I felt like it was a sign from God that we can still have hope. Even with the world-wide pandemic, and political upheaval in the United States, He is still in control and in Him we can still have hope.
So, wherever you are, I hope you take a minute to look at the “Christmas Star” and remember that Hope in Christ never dies.
Merry Christmas and here’s to a better year in 2021.