GOD proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from GOD. It’s a good thing when you’re young to stick it out through the hard times.

Lamentations 3:25-27

My teen son asked for the latest video gaming system recently. He asks every year. I don’t feel it’s a good fit for our family, so I’ve worked hard to create boundaries around technology. But every year around this time, he asks. I’m not feeling the violent or pseudo sports games. When it comes to sports, to actually play soccer or football with real people would be my choice. So every year, I say no. We usually meet in the middle somehow, but not before my son shows me what hope looks like.

Just after the no, my son continues to speak in faith about his desire. He turns my no into a maybe and speaks life over the dream by talking about it to his siblings and friends. It drives me crazy (because I’ve already said no), but he’s kindling hope. He won’t let the light go out on his dream.

It doesn’t always turn out the way he plans, but his belief in a hopeful outcome keeps him motivated. At least until his dream is fulfilled or replaced by another. He might be on to something. This shift breathes life into the no. It grows into the hopeful promise of maybe. And sometimes, as in Advent, what seemed like maybe becomes yes. Jesus.

My son’s hopefulness has made me look at maybe in a different way. For a long time, I considered maybe the murkiest of middle grounds. I wanted no part of it. Thinking a definitive answer was all I could work with, I resisted maybe. My son taught me to rest in the hint of hope implied.

So I’m learning to live with maybe. The thought of cradling a dream in the land of maybe gives me hope. Nursing a dream through maybe means I’m growing and stretching my faith. It means I’ll be ready for a compromise, ready for my dream, and ready for the next big thing.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Have you found maybe to be a hopeful place of rest? Have you considered learning to live with maybe?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, as we wait, help us find hope. Help us to remain pliable to your will, your way. Help us use faith to turn discouraging situations around. Help us consider the hopeful respite of maybe. Help us see possibility at every turn, to look at life with a spirit of hope. Relax into the God-powerful peace of maybe. Help us believe and breathe … the possibility and promise of yes. Amen.

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Advent Hope

“ … we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:4-5).

Every now and then (or perhaps more often than that), it might be hard to find hope in this world. Even in the midst of celebrating the birth of Christ, we may struggle to see the silver lining. At the height of all the revelry, it may be difficult to find a solid foothold or a ledge to hang onto. And so, Jesus joins us in the center of it all, acknowledging the dark and dreary and not requiring us to “buck up” or “get a grip.” Instead, he lies in a manger, a star over his head, and silently invites us to look up. Christ is at work in the world, despite evidence to the contrary. In this series, Advent Hope, join us as together, we take a deep breath and dare to look up.

Featured image by Tim Miller. Used with Permission. Source via Flickr.