Hope. This is the baby Jesus.

"The days get darker and darker, and then Jesus is born."
Wendell Berry

It truly is hard to see darkness fall over the city earlier and earlier each day, urging us into hibernation.  But it's also during this darkest time of the year that the brightest Light shines. 

I had the privilege of joining my group of four young adults during an art therapy session this week.  We were each given ample paint brushes, acrylic paints and a large piece of cardboard. The task was to paint colors and objects to express emotions. We each painted joy, sadness, excitement and anger on our piece of cardboard. 

Then we were told to paint hope.  One of the girls asked me, "What does that mean?" I tried to explain that hope is waiting and believing in something before we have it, or before it happens — a difficult concept for this hyper-active young adult to grasp.

A few minutes later I glanced around to see what colors and designs had been chosen to express hope.  Purple seemed to be a popular choice, but not many concrete objects were used, just swirls and dots. Then my eye noticed a peculiar shaped oval on one painting. "Hey C.*, is that a manger?" I asked, amazed.  With a huge grin, he replied, "Yes, this is the baby Jesus."

Hope.  This is the baby Jesus.
Emanuel. God is with us.
Waiting and believing.

May God quiet your heart with hope this Christmas and fill you with peace as you wait for Him and welcome Him.

With love,
Rachel

*This is the same C. I wrote about last month.