The First Advent Candle: Hope.

Candlelighter: Cindy Cordova

Hope is expressed differently by different people. There are the hopeful (glass half full) like my husband and the hopeless (glass half empty) like myself. And a lot of us tend to hang out on the fence . . . teetering . . . balancing between the two.

There are those that would say GOD gives us “hope” and that with no “hope” certainly there would be no joy. And so “hope” is often interpreted as “faith.” Some use these words interchangeably.

Our family subscribes to the idea of “hope” as a faith. A faith in being . . . and not just in being . . . but in doing. Each moment is an opportunity. If we do and act in that moment in such a way that promotes kindness, compassion and meaning we have fulfilled a hope of betterment. Not in a specific or personal betterment or in a specific goal, but in a broader betterment . . . of how our actions are received and passed on in the universe.

So I light our first advent candle with the hope that we each and every one of us positively “do” in the moment. May the universe carry your positive energy forward and disperse it where it’s needed most.