This morning I was watching the Today show for the first time in quite some time. With a curious toddler in the middle of a pandemic, I don't need to overwhelm her little heart -- We've already dealt with nightmares because Frosty melted. That being said, I was getting dressed in the other room when I heard my beloved Goo Goo Dolls singing "Better Days" trailing from the television. I rushed in to see a video montage of remarkable, encouraging moments from 2020 with "Better Days" as the background music. The flood gates opened. And what amounted was tears the size of Noah's flood.
We will close out 2020 tonight, and we look to 2021 with high hopes. I always think of Kennedy when I say "high hopes." The reality is this next year may be no different. I sat at the breakfast table the other morning with Jeremy and my mother-in-law and made the statement of how this new year might be no different. When the clock strikes 12, the reality is we are still going to be living in the same situation... and quite possibly a situation I dread even more.
I believe I cried, not because the images were truly moving (because they were), but because I was assessing this year. I was taking in all that has happened. Hope is not in a number on the scale. It is not two pink lines or a plus sign. Hope is not a vaccine. It is not a sunny day. Hope is not our reliance on anything tangible on this earth.
Hope is a person.
My hope is built on nothing less...
This morning I started reading through the Bible again. Genesis 1 and 2. I began wondering why God would put the tree in the garden with -- why did it have to be there? As I've thought long and hard about hope today, I've surmounted that it's quite possible we need to learn how to obey; we need to learn how to trust; and, we need to learn that HE is our ultimate.
This year has proven that much for me. I know this next year will only grow upon that.
As we close this year, I do want to say that I am thankful for this pandemic on many levels. It has changed my sense of normalcy on all levels. It has rocked my sense of control, which doesn't exist at all. I know that we are truly grateful for how quarantine has allowed us the blessing of meeting and interacting with our neighbors. We've always known who they were -- a friendly wave here and there. But this time has brought us closer. We walk up in one another's yards and speak to each other. We know about one another's lives. We share treats. This has been one of the sweetest blessings.
I can go on and on.. but I shall stop rambling. Friend, this hope that we have. It's not here. It can't be contained. It can't be grasped. But It is only manifested in the person and work of Christ. My hope is built on nothing less..
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