Written by Lynn Eklund

It’s so easy to get our hopes up in our culture- especially this time of year.  When I was a little girl, I hoped Santa would bring me a Barbie Dream House every year.  He never did.  I think back to the year I really hoped my boyfriend (now husband) would propose at Christmas.  He didn’t.

My hopes were small and somewhat trivial when I was young.  As I got a little older, life started to hit hard, and often around the holidays.  When I was in college my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer the first week of December.  A year after beating cancer, my parent’s marriage of twenty-five years fell apart right around Christmastime.  Seven years into my own marriage, my husband and I expected to celebrate and announce the pregnancy of our second child at Christmas.  Sadly, we found out we had lost our baby.

Last year, I felt so at peace entering into the Advent season.  I was determined for it to be a stress free season.  The first week of December my husband was traveling to New York on business and I was at home with our three small children.  The morning my husband left, I started having severe pain and my sweet neighbor rushed me to the ER while my older two children were in school.  I ended up needing surgery to have my gall bladder removed.  A week later our car broke down and we needed $1000 in repairs.

When the enemy attacks, this life can be so tough.  I know many of you can relate, but through it all we have the hope of Christ!  He has proven to be faithful and we can rejoice through our sufferings because it is through them we see His plan and provisions (Romans 5:3-5).  I am currently reading Isaiah and the constant theme I am hearing God say to the Israelites is I am your God and you are mine.  Keep your eyes on me!  This world is broken and we will go through hard times, but our God is carrying us through it all (Isaiah 43:1-7).

The Israelites struggled.  They had it rough.  In the time before the birth of Christ, God had been silent for 400 years.  They waited on the promise of a King.  After the silence, He kept His promise, and that promise was fulfilled in the birth of our Savior, Jesus.  We will suffer- it’s life, but soon we will struggle no more!  We have received the most amazing gift of all through Christ, and our reward is eternal.

“Be Thou My Vision” has always been one of my favorite hymns.  I have attached a link to a modern version of this hymn that I just love.  May we place our hope in Him no matter what life throws at us this Christmas, and may Christ be our vision throughout this Advent season (Hebrews 12:1-2)!