Advent Week One – Hope: You’re not done dreaming!

Their life together started with so much hope. They fell in love fast and felt sure of everything. It was easy to sacrifice college to marry him. But these days, nothing was easy. Not even living in the same house. It’s too late, she thought to herself. So much for the head start having kids young, and a great marriage that lasts. And so much for my fallback teaching plan! She slammed her laptop shut and woke the baby. How could she have let her credits expire? And even more infuriating, How could she be so naive to think that her husband would always support them financially? She’d have to start her bachelor’s degree from scratch. Should she even try?  

Has someone given up on you, or pulled back on a promise, and left you feeling foolish with your foiled plans?  

You don’t have just one shot, or just one chance in life. God will turn your timetable upside down and laugh with you at age or circumstance as constraints. He’ll do for you, just like you would do for your daughter if she came to you crying with a crumpled-up dream. He’ll get you out a fresh piece of paper and a pack of fresh crayons and He’ll say, “Let’s start again, together.”  

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 

With the kids:  

To ask: Have you ever made plans that you were excited about, that didn’t quite work out? How did you feel aft

To read: “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:8-14  

To listen: The First Noel  

To pray: Lord, let’s start fresh today. You and me and the kids. Help me to stay focused on the present, and to receive your love with gratitude and hope. I want to show my children that your mercies are new every morning through the way I love them anew each day. 

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