A Prayer of Hope for the First Sunday of Advent
Gracious God, we speak this day of watching and waiting in Hope, expecting you to come and set things right, but the truth is, we’re weary of waiting. We’re weary of waiting for redemption and for reconciliation and for the peace that passes understanding. We’re weary of waiting for the meek to inherit the earth; for light and life; for the end of crying and mourning.
Come Lord, and fill our hearts with the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ.
We pray for healing in our personal lives and relationships, for peace on earth, for an end to bigotry and violence. We pray for countries devastated by war and natural disasters. We pray for our children and our children’s children, and all of your children.
Come Lord, and fill our hearts with the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ.
We pray for the day when little children are safe from those who would do them harm, and the hungry are fed and the homeless are sheltered. We pray for the assurance that our departed loved ones are safe in your care and keeping, and that we will see them again.
Come Lord, and fill our hearts with the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ.
As the days get shorter and the nights get deeper, we long for the angels to announce to the shepherds that Jesus has finally arrived. We hope to be close enough to overhear their chorus- the good news of great joy for us all. We hope to see the star we often miss as we look down, trying not to stumble in the dark. Lord, do not let the darkness overcome us as we wait.
Come Lord, and fill our hearts with the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
May we have the gift of hope as we begin this year’s Advent Journey.
Elizabeth
Yesterday our children heard a mission story about a young woman named Juana. Juana had to start working at the age of six to help her family. She always worked very hard, and for long hours. When she grew up and married, she hoped things would be better for her children. Despite their best efforts, she and her husband still struggled to give their children the most basic food. They often went hungry, and whenever a child became sick, they had to choose between paying for medicine or food, because they couldn’t afford both.
Juana knew things had to change, but because she did not go to school, she didn’t know where to begin. Thankfully, Heifer Project was there to get Juana started – with a gift of 65 chickens. Juana learned how to care for the birds and run an egg business. Today, Juana’s family has plenty of eggs to eat, as well as to sell for income. Gone are the days of having to choose between food, medicine and school. Now Juana and her family’s future is filled with hope!
I told our children that I was giving each of them the gift of a flock of chicks – that would be sent somewhere in the world to help a family with children just like them. I’m counting on their parents to explain further about the importance of giving gifts that help others, and hopefully a few families will start a new tradition of giving through Heifer International!
It’s amazing what can be accomplished with a flock of chicks! A good hen can lay more than 200 eggs a year. That means plenty of eggs to eat, share or sell. Families can make money from chickens without spending much, because the birds require little space and can thrive on food scraps. Also, chickens help control insects and fertilize gardens.
Choosing Christmas gifts from Heifer International will help families across the world pull themselves out of crushing poverty, and will help a family for years to come. Goats and sheep, alpacas and heifers, pigs, chicks and honeybees are gifts that keep on giving. “The idea behind Heifer is similar to the notion that it’s better to teach a man to fish so he can feed himself than to give him a fish that will feed him just once. One animal could eventually benefit an entire community.” The practice of “passing on the gift” in sharing the offspring of the animals received from Heifer, again and again, helps build community and improve the quality of life for all.
Heifer also builds solar-powered wells that bring life-sustaining water right to families own backyards. Heifer helps families install treadle pumps, practice water conservation and use organic fertilizers to protect drinking water to improve their health. The gifts of tree seedlings and garden seeds are also given, and families are taught how to keep their plots of land healthy by planting trees and vegetable gardens using natural fertilizer.
One church I served received a generous endowment and the decision was made to give a “tithe” of the endowment to benevolence. In doing that, some of the money went to purchase the gift of an Ark from Heifer! An ark contained two cows, two oxen, two sheep, two goats, two beehives, two water buffalo., two pigs, two trios of rabbits, two trios of ducks, two trios of guinea pigs, two flocks of geese, two flocks of chicks two alpacas, two schools of fish and a Community Animal Vet Kit. Talk about a gift that goes on giving!
I hope our little ones will begin to feel a part of making the world a better place through sharing their flocks of chicks with others.
Elizabeth
Each year I read The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, a wonderfully wise and simple story about a leaf named Freddie. How Freddie and his companion leaves change with the passing seasons, finally falling to the ground with winter’s snow, is an inspiring allegory of life and purpose.
“Freddie loved being a leaf. He loved his branch, his light leafy friends, his place high in the sky, the wind that jostled him about, the sun rays that warmed him, the moon that covered him with soft, white shadows.”
One day Freddie and Daniel, his best friend, were talking about their purpose, or reason for being. “To make things more pleasant for others is a reason for being …to make shade for old people who come to escape the heat of their homes; to provide a cool place for children to come and play; to fan with our leaves the picnickers who come to eat on checkered tablecloths … These are all reasons for being.”
One day things changed. “The same breezes that, in the past, had made them dance began to push and pull at their stems, almost as if they were angry. This caused some of the leaves to be torn from their branches and swept up in the wind, tossed about and dropped softly to the ground … This is what happens in the Fall, says Daniel. It’s time for leaves to change their homes – some say to die.” Freddie wants to know if the tree dies too. “Someday, Daniel replies, but there is something stronger than the tree. It is Life. That lasts forever and we are all a part of life.”
Freddie was afraid, and Daniel reassures him that we all fear what we don’t know. “It’s natural, Daniel reassures him … You were not afraid when Spring became Summer; you were not afraid when Summer became Fall. They were natural changes. Why should you be afraid of the season of changing homes, the season of dying?”
One cold morning, the wind came that took Freddie from his branch. “As he fell, he saw the whole tree for the first time. How strong and firm it was! He was sure that it would live for a long time and he knew that he had been a part of its life and it made him proud … Freddie landed on a clump of snow. It somehow felt soft and even warm. In this new position he was more comfortable than he had ever been. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. He did not know that Spring would follow Winter and that the snow would melt into water. He did not know that what appeared to be his useless dried self would join with the water and serve to make the tree stronger. Most of all, he did not know that there, asleep in the tree and the ground, were already plans for new leaves in the Spring.”
Many stories conclude with the words “The End” but not this one. The words on the final page of Freddie’s story - “The Beginning.”
As I enjoy these beautiful Fall days in Jackson Spring, with sunlight highlighting colorful leaves, I think of their purpose, their reason for being, and my own. I reflect on the seasons of my life and realize that I am a part of all that has been and all that will be. I’m reminded of a verse of a wonderful hymn, “Hymn of Promise”:
“In the bulb, there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. “
Giving thanks for simple stories that remind us of deep truths, and for those streams of mercy, never ceasing.
Elizabeth