Hope

A lot of my blogs seem to start out with, "this past week I…" 

As I think about what to write, I often look back and think about all that transpired in the week. Sometimes, when doing that, some little memory or thought will pop up that gives me subject matter to write about. Other times it feels like I'm just writing a journal entry, something to look back on that says, "remember when."

As I look back at this past week and into this advent season, it feels like this world is in some kind of a swirl, like there is hope and peace, but it seems out there, just out of reach. Is it coming? Did we miss it? Are we not hoping far enough into the future? Or maybe what we hope for now is only a glimpse of our hope for the future.  Even when our  current hopes and dreams become reality and things seem good, we realize that even then, in the the swirl of life, there is so much pain and things that just aren't right all around us.  And so this morning, I find myself writing out of that swirl. 

This past week was a busy one. We had a booth at Christmas in the Village on Friday evening and Saturday. Blake had a piano recital at the new Performing Arts Center at our local college on Saturday. Caleb had a robotics competition in Virginia. It was a qualifier for regionals so there were lots of practices all week. Friday afternoon the homeschool group gave a program at Christmas in the Village. On top of that it was the first week of rifle season for deer. Rifle season is often when the freezer gets filled. It's also the DNR’s best method and time of controlling the deer herd and keeping the auto insurance people happy, and we like to be a part of that.

So we divided and conquered. Jenelle took Caleb to Virginia after the homeschool program.  Our oldest daughter held down the fort at Christmas in the Village while I took Blake to his recital. We didn't hunt as much as we hoped but we did a little. 

Blake's piano recital was excellent! And the sound in the new auditorium was just beautiful. Caleb's team didn't advance in the qualifier event but he felt like they did really well and they just had a few unlucky breaks to hold them back. They'll get another attempt later in the season. From a business perspective we did quite well at Christmas in the Village. On top of that it was really good to get to see and meet a lot of you! We really appreciate that encouragement!

Sunday afternoon we decorated our tree. We drink eggnog and chocolate milk, eat cookies and play Christmas music. It's always a fun time. For the most part Jenelle and I get to watch the kids decorate and that's such a special time for us, seeing them clown around and having fun. And then we do this weird tradition that I started when the kids were just little. Everyone picks out a set of antlers from our collection, we tell the story about the hunt, the where and the when, and then they hide it somewhere in the tree. For mine this year I picked up a shed antler from a buck that I was hunting, one that I had pictures of and I think is still alive but that I just can't find. Maybe I could share with the kids a lesson on the advent of hope? It's always good to have hope.

That brings us back to the whirl of life that I was talking about earlier.

The week actually ended up feeling dark and gloomy for me. The ambulance had arrived at Christmas in the Village. We didn't know why at first but later learned that some friends from our church were there and realized that their 3-week old baby wasn’t breathing. She died after being rushed to the hospital. Such an unexplainable and terrible tragedy. I can't think of anything more terrible. And when we gathered at my parent’s place Sunday evening to observe advent, I was again reminded that even when things do go great, there are so many things around us that aren't so great. My twenty-five year old nephew  was there, happy and jovial as always. But it was the first time I had seen him since he had his first round of chemotherapy. He was diagnosed with some rare form of cancer just a few short weeks ago. And even though he is in the best of spirits, and we're hopeful and confident that with the doctors and God's help, he can beat it, we can already see the toll the battle is taking. Don't take me wrong. It's important to find joy and hope in this life, and especially to find peace in our circumstances.  But man, I sure wish it would be better than this.

I looked down at the shed antler. Wouldn't it be nice to get a big buck? Wouldn't it be nice to get everything I wanted? 

As I get older I realize that things will never be perfect on this earth. And the good things here are only temporary. But things will be better in a lifetime yet to come. The Hope is in that promise that Jesus gave. He's coming to take us to a place that's better than here. A place where there's no sickness or death or any of that bad stuff. And I probably won't be killing any deer there, but hopefully I will be hunting for their sheds, watching and caring for them, canoeing and hiking, blowing glass, and lots of other fun stuff.

Until then I'll be hoping for and trying to help make this a happier and better place. 

I looked down at the shed antler again. I thought to myself, "It'll be ok if he makes it through the season, even if I never see him or get a shot." 

But you can bet one thing, in the spring I'll be looking for his sheds again. 

And if I don't find his sheds, well that will be ok too, because my hope is that one day, after this life, I'll be looking for sheds whenever I want, and in that time and place, that's where we'll find peace and joy forever!  

I put the antler in the tree.

Merry Christmas!