Too Busy for Hope at the Holidays?

I debated whether or not I was going to write this blog again this holiday season.  I had a due date of December 1 to get my manuscript into my publisher. I had just finished my turning in my manuscript to my publisher on November 28 and I have been feeling brain dead and burned out.   Having a book contract with a reputable publisher is amazing, but it monopolized my life.

Then wham . . . it was the first Sunday of Advent again on November 30 where the hope candle of the Advent wreath was lit at church. The sermon was about hope.  It was about the hope of the world to be found in Jesus Christ . . . at least that was what I came away with when I left the sanctuary.

I came to realize, my mind was just too busy.  My mind was just too focused on problems and things to do.  Since July 1 when I had signed the contract I was busy with work and writing.  I had been a driven individual.  I was just too busy to think about hope.

I think I have been a driven individual most of my life.  Either I have the compulsive trait inherited from my mother or I have been out to prove myself.   

Many of us who live in the average metropolitan area likely have some pressure to be driven.  We commute to work either on crowded ring road highways or we cram ourselves into mass transit vehicles.  We go to work pushing ourselves to keep up a fast pace to be productive.   Many of us live paycheck to paycheck seeking to maximize what we can do with the money.   

For those of us who are already driven, the holiday season only seems to intensify the driven-ness.  There are events added to the schedule, there are extra food items to make and gifts to buy and the house has to be cleaned.   There is not much time and place for hope.

Well, for me there was a call for at least to take a breath and reflect.  With my social commentary, is Christmas about making sure everyone gets the perfect present or is it about celebrating faith?  Is Christmas about Santa Claus or is it reflecting on us as broken individuals needing the gift of God sacrificing his only son to save us from our sins?  Of course, if you do not identify with the Christian faith, the significance of Jesus Christ may be in question.

Well, with the need for a breath, I have thought not just twice but three times about writing the blog again this year.  However, 1976 page views tell me that the blog has been meaningful or encouraging to someone—maybe it has helped given some hope.

Feel free to review the other entries for subjects of interest to you.  Feel free to comment. I hope that you too can find hope.