Advent Hope for Homemakers
- Allison Weeks
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
A companion blog for The Art of Home's Monday Motivation #40, Season 26, Ep11
The Flame of Hope
by Tiffany Harris, Homemaker
Imagine, for a moment, you are standing in a dark room. Completely black. Not only can you not see anything, but you can actually feel the darkness. You’re wearing it like a heavy blanket. You feel alone. You may feel afraid. You wonder what is just beyond your physical body; the darkness is so thick. The quietness is uncomfortable. You question how long it will last.
And then…
One tiny flame comes into view.
The darkness is vast, but not all-consuming. The heaviness is lifting. You are more comfortable in your aloneness. The fear begins to subside. You can see your hand. The quiet is welcome.
This is how I imagine hope. A tiny flame that chases away complete darkness.
As we observe Advent and consider hope, I can’t help but think of long ago. The world in utter darkness. The heaviness. The aloneness. Fear. And then I think of the stable. Mary, pregnant with the promised Hope of the world, in labor. Joseph standing by wanting to help; to relieve the pain. The animals settled in for the night and the only other witnesses to what was taking place. I imagine the stable lit only by a single flame of a lantern or candle. And then The Hope of the World was born. I love that the shepherds were the first to know of Jesus' birth. Hope had come and the utter darkness was broken.
Dear Reader, yes you. The single homemaker. The single mom homemaker. The in-the-trenches homemaker. The seasoned homemaker. Those satisfied, yet still longing. Those with young children or desiring them. The woman trying to balance working outside (or in) the home and homemaking. The empty-nest homemaker.
To each and every one of you, no matter how you would define this season. This moment. What dark room are you standing in? What unmet expectations are you wearing like a heavy blanket? What might be making you feel alone? A seemingly distant spouse, new motherhood, or the empty nest? What might be causing fear? Financial stress, a prodigal child, or illness? The unbearable quietness despite all of the actual noise. Are you facing a health diagnosis, mentally or physically, or a spiritual disconnect?
May I ask you to linger in the “darkness” and consider your thoughts and feelings? Just for a few moments.
Now, may I light a flame of hope for you? Not my words, but God’s. For He alone is our True Hope.
Lamentations 3:21-25 (NIRV)
But here is something else I remember.
And it gives me hope.
The Lord loves us very much.
So we haven’t been completely destroyed.
His loving concern never fails.
His great love is new every morning.
Lord, how faithful you are!
I say to myself, “The Lord is everything I will ever need.
So I will put my hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who put their hope in him.
He is good to those who look to him.
Read this verse slowly. Now, read it again. Personalize it by adding your name. Write it out and place it where you will see it.
Now imagine you are standing in that dark room, however, with the flame of Hope burning.
Does the darkness seem less consuming? Less heavy? Do you feel the gentle presence of the Holy Spirit? Is the fear beginning to fade? The quietness, is it welcome?
Linger and allow His truth to light your way.
May Hope alight in your heart this Christmas.
The Advent of Hope
by Amber Davis, Homemaker
Have you ever considered how often we use the word hope? Most of us probably use it daily, even if it is just a private thought, and not a word spoken. Statements like:
“I hope it doesn’t rain today.”
“I hope my son passes his test,” “Or my daughter makes the dance team.”
“I hope so and so is nice.” “I hope nothing bad happens.” “I really hope I get this new job.”
“I hope the biopsy is negative.” “I hope I can pay the rent this month”
“I hope _______ will get sober.”
As you can see, our hopes can run the whole spectrum. From the mundane to the magnificent, we are all hoping in or for something. And all hope entails a period of waiting.
Throughout the Bible, our spiritual ancestors knew what it meant to hope, and they knew what it meant to wait. I think of Abraham and Sarah, hoping each month they would discover her to be pregnant. Months turning into years, years into decades. When finally 25 years later, TWENTY FIVE, their hope was fulfilled.
Jacob hoped to marry Rachel, and waited 14 years. Joseph hoped to see his father just one more time, only to wait about 27 years. Every one of these stories, and hundreds of others, were rooted in a garden where hope began.
Looking at Genesis 3, the situation looked bleak, the outcome looked hopeless. Satan had come onto the scene and brought deception with him. Followed by one choice that brought sin….a tyrant with death and destruction in its wake. BUT GOD!
In Genesis 3:15, we find our first proclamation of hope; that an Offspring would come who would deal a fatal blow to Satan. And every Biblical story that follows, points to the fulfillment of that proclamation, Jesus our Messiah.
For thousands of years, the Jews hoped for the Messiah’s arrival. They clung to the words of the prophets that liberation was coming, and they revisited and remembered the Scriptures that testified to the Son of Man. They watched and waited. Until finally, their Hope arrived.
But He was packaged differently than they had expected, wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of a soldier’s armor. As a result, so many disregarded the Gift. As Jesus fulfilled His earthly ministry, bringing healing and redemption, again many dismissed the Gift. They refused to believe that their Hope was a simple Nazarene, and not one of the elite.
As Hope hung on the cross, defeating sin, they despised Him as a criminal instead of hailing Him as King. They doubted the Messiah, even as He conquered the grave. Instead of embracing the hope offered to them, they were blinded by their experience and expectations.
Hope lived and moved among them then, and He lives and moves among us now; still working, still freeing, still redeeming. Is your hope found in Jesus? And what are you hoping Jesus will accomplish for you? A situation to work out, a relationship to mend, a marriage or children to come, a home to live in, a disease to heal?
It is in lack, longing and limitation that Hope is beckoned. It is in the waiting that Hope strengthens and guards.
Our stories are not much different than those of the Bible. They too are rooted in the garden, where our first taste of brokenness revealed our need for Hope. God could have fulfilled that hope immediately, but He has always had the long view in mind. Waiting and dependence on the Lord can be the rich soil where sanctification and relationship are cultivated.
As we cultivate a place of beauty and belonging in our homes, cultivate relationships with our people, or cultivate righteousness in our hearts, we too must have the long view in mind. Our practice of expectant hope for the fruits of our daily labor to come to bear prepares us for the expectant hope of a future glory.
On this side of heaven, some of our circumstantial hopes may never be fulfilled. And those that are, will likely be filled in ways that are unexpected. But there is one hope that we can have a confident expectation of, the return of Jesus Christ and an eternal life spent with Him. We may have to wait, but we don’t ever have to wonder if it will happen or not.
In the words of the beloved apostle Paul, Jesus Christ will deliver us from every evil attack and He will deliver us safely into the Kingdom of Heaven (2 Timothy 4:18).
It is that ultimate hope that we cling to, as we await His imminent return. A promise that we celebrate and anticipate each Advent season. May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Prayer: Jesus, You are our ever present and everlasting Hope. It is to You we cling, not just in the Advent season, but every season of life. Oh Lord, will you strengthen us in the waiting. Teach us. Renew us. Refine and prepare us. Refresh our hope anew each day as we look to You. May the thrill of hope anchor us as we anticipate Your glorious return. All glory and honor and praise to you Jesus, our Living Hope. Amen!
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