Blog for December 1st, 2025
Hope
Welcome December! Yesterday the twenty-five days of Advent that lead up to Christmas Day began. Each week is a different focus, hope, peace, joy and love. The first week begins our focus on Hope. We read our meditation for it and I just learned that the candle we light is called “the prophet’s candle”. Because it was the foretold prophecies of the Messiah that first brought “the hope”.
Without hope, I would not have gotten clean when I did, I would not stay clean. I would not pursue a close relationship with my Higher Power. On many occasions when all seemed dim and gloomy, and everything seemed overwhelmingly sad and impossible to move past, I would have just given up and got high, or worse. Without hope, there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to bother with doing good or being “good”.
I once read a little poem of sorts that I memorized in 1972, it was in a little book my mom gave me, it said “Fear knocked at the door, Hope answered and found no one there”. You don’t know how many times this little sentence has helped me to get through a night, or through an ordeal. And my life’s motto, especially where using addicts are concerned and other situations, “where there is life, there is hope”. Probably in that same book. In fact, I just recited that motto a couple days ago regarding my friend’s son that is out there using something awful. (please pray for him).
But hope does spring eternal, and as long as we can have even a little small glimmer of it, we can hang in there and move towards the big light. I don’t know about you, but I have used hope when I’ve been homeless, penniless, sick, in the hospital having operations, starting and ending meaningful relationships, jobs, education, and most certainly, recovery. Because if I do not stay clean, then for me, all hope is lost.
I’ve been hopeful for my husband, children, grandchildren, sisters, brother, cousins, various family and friends. For events, meetings, newcomers, students, neighbors, politicians and the world at large. I have hoped for survivors in storms, earthquakes, wars, hostage situations, accidents, illness and everything else that causes people to be in harms way. For the rain to let up, for the rain to come, for warmer days, colder days. To pass a test and especially for my children (including grandkids) to be healed and helped in times of distress and illnesses. When my kids were little and I would take them to their pediatrician, there was a poster in the examining room that a picture of a cat or something hanging onto the end of rope and the caption read “when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on”. I find that hopeful and inspiring.
The very bottom line for me, as we go into this advent time of reflection on our relationship with God and continue with the eternal hope of knowing that I will be hanging out with Him in heaven someday. I also know, that until I do, He is watching over us and helping us and guiding us along the way. He will never leave me hanging out there in the cold, just floundering, not knowing what to expect. I will always know what to expect: His comfort, guidance, love, compassion, mercy and care.
Question of the Week: What are you hoping for this week/month?
