friend

For surely I know the plans I have for you,
says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm,
 to give you a future with hope. —Jeremiah 29:11

Where is the way to the dwelling of light? — Job 38:18-20

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This solo candle lifts its presence as a guide. It shines into the season of waiting and preparing. It becomes a companion.

            In day-to-day living, we probably don’t focus on our need for hope. Rather, we seek or rely on hope in times when you struggle.

            Another strategy for cultivating hope, especially when you are experiencing challenges, is to find at least one relationship that remains supportive. Just one.

            At first, people often respond in overwhelming numbers with tangible gestures of kindness in the wake of trauma or loss. Over time, that network of sympathy and outreach slows down. Yet your human need to foster hope is often a long-term approach to whatever situation has troubled or transformed your life. If you have one or more vital connections that continue to be present throughout your journey, this is often enough to cultivate hope.

            Perhaps, on the other hand, you are that significant relationship or form of support for another person. It’s imperative to honor self-care boundaries, so that you maintain your own equilibrium when offering compassion to someone else. Yet realize, even when you set limits, that by caring and showing up consistently for another person, you make a difference. You help foster resilience in another life, as well as your own.

            Maybe, in this Advent season, you receive someone else’s light. Or perhaps you offer your own to another. One way or another, hope burns. — Rev Gail

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Hope can be a powerful force.
Maybe there’s no actual magic in it,
but when you know what you hope for most
and hold it like a light within you,
you can make things happen, almost like magic.
– Laini Taylor

Listen to the inner light; it will guide you.
Listen to the inner peace; it will feed you.
Listen to the inner love; it will transform you.
— Sri Chinmoy