Tis the Season of Advent

A new tradition I'm learning along with my kids is that of Advent, the few weeks before Christmas that we take the time to prepare our hearts and home for the celebration of Jesus' birthday.  I'm sure there is a more theological definition, but for our family its become a time to teach the kids the 'real reason for the season'.  Part of the Advent celebration at our church is for families or individuals to share a short devotion for each week of Advent and light the candle on our church's Advent wreath.  This past week, our family had the opportunity to share with the congregation on what the first week of Advent means to us:

The first Sunday of Advent brings us the theme of ‘Hope’.  This past week, I’ve thought a lot about what we, as a family, would like to share about what our hope is.  And I came to realize, not surprisingly, that all our hopes are different.   

‘Hope’, according to Webster, means to “desire or anticipate with expectation”.  Now, if you ask any small child, specifically speaking of a three (almost four) year old boy who is just this year really realizing that Christmas equals gifts, you wouldn’t have to look up the definition of hope.  I hear many times a day “I really hope that someday I can have…” and you could fill in the blank with any toy or adventure a young boy adores. 

Sarah’s hope is a little harder to distinguish since she’s holding out on talking for us. But I think she hopes for a lap that is always ready for some company.  And I can tell, just by the look in her eye, that one of her ongoing hopes is that she gets to her dolly and stroller before Caleb does so she doesn’t have to play yet another game of “chase” with Caleb to get them back.

And a BIG hope for Josh and I is, every night, we hope that Sarah goes to bed without a tantrum and sleeps through ‘til morning. 

But I’m grateful that we know the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  And because of that, we have a HOPE that goes beyond these worldly senses of hope.  Our deepest hope is that we can teach our children the love of God and that they will grasp that knowledge and use it to live a life that is pleasing to their Creator.  We anticipate that our children will watch us, listen to us and learn through our actions and words the way God would have us show love to one another.  And we expect that they will learn a Godly way of life and continue it on to generations in the future. 

As this year rolls into the next, we hope to see a difference in the lives of our children:  one of continual growth both physically and spiritually.  And we pray that embedding these Christ-like values in our everyday life will one day allow our kids to put their hope in the saving grace of their Savior.