Happy Thanksgiving! I have something to confess. Though I have every reason to be thankful, too often I allow even minor annoyances to steal my joy. If my TV suddenly starts acting funny or I spill something, I can go from zero to grumpy in nothing flat. When I get like that, even my dogs don’t want to be near me. Charles Wesley wrote a hymn called, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” The last verse is written in the form of prayer: “Finish, then, Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be; Let us see Thy great salvation Perfectly restored in Thee; Changed from glory into glory, Till in Heav’n we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, love, and praise.” That’s the perfect prayer for someone like me. It begins with a prayer for forgiveness and finishes in endless worship. It gives me hope, because I know that even though I might sometimes get lost in grumbling, the ultimate desire of my heart is to be lost in wonder, love and praise. This holiday season, don’t get lost on the way to genuine praise. Join me this first Sunday of Advent, as we receive An Unexpected Gift: Hope!
