So, I broke the cardinal rule of blogging - I failed to follow through with 10 consecutive days of blogposts after I said that I would provide just that. I apologize.

To tell the truth, it has been tough to find things to be thankful about. Saying that makes me feel terrible. I look around and see people that are much worse off than I am, and it's hard to see me through their situation. I have learned through this that God is still working on me, and He is far from done - I am thankful for that.

My post today is about hope. Hope is particular to the person that holds it, and it is something that can't be taken. You may give up on it or allow it to be given away, but it can't be taken from you. Hope requires an object. That object could be a situation, thing, accomplishment, or person. It could also be a combination of all of these things. The dangerous thing about hope is that you will be betrayed by it if your object of hope cannot be trusted absolutely. Thinking about this makes me glad that my hope is in Christ.

Many different things try to gain your trust. The most recent example that comes to mind are the elections. Politicians push and drive for months on end to show their best face, and speak their best speeches. They hope to gain support and devotion from their "fellow men." The goal behind a political campaign is to establish one's popularity with their target group. In the case of the Presidential campaign, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain wanted to make their plight hit home with the average American. The end goal was for me to see my future through their well-constructed telescope. I was to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and find hope through their promises of a brighter tomorrow. The sad fact is that neither of these men could possibly deliver all that was touted. I believe that Mr. Obama will do a fantastic job because of the people that will be behind him, not because of the promises that he made. For the record, I would have felt the same way about Mr. McCain.

Opponents of hope would have us to believe that hope is futile. They would like for us to abandon hope, and cling to things that could make us focus on the situation at hand. Recently, evil broke into my world. It tried to force me to abandon a little piece of hope, and cling to anger instead. Sickness attempted to loosen my grip on hope and direct me to take hold of bitterness. Fear manifests as financial instability and tries to pull me from hope and drag me away to despair.

If my hope were in things that I see with my carnal eyes, then this task would be easy. It would be a cake walk, to be honest. I will not lie - for moments over the last 7 months, my focus has sometimes drifted from my hope. In these times, I have to remember my hope. I have to seek out my hope and turn my eyes towards it. The neat thing about my source of hope is that He seeks me out in these times. Jesus makes it easy for me to place my hope in Him. He is perfect in all situations, and He never falls short of my expectations. I find hope in a song on the radio, or a passage in a book. I can see it on the faces of the volunteers that stand in the entrance at Wal-Mart, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. It's on the faces of the people in my church that are facing terrible situations.

I can see the absence of hope on faces that I pass in the stores. This void hangs on the shoulders of people as they search for something to fill the empty hole in their soul. They will try to shove money or situation or accomplishments into this hole, but it will not be filled by those things. Shoving things in will only increase the size of the hole, and that will lead to desperation. I see this load of despair on others as they struggle to just survive during this time of perpetual joy. As they hear merry tunes that jump from the supermarket speakers, their souls will be all the more hollow and hurting. Their situation has gotten so massive that it blocks their view toward anything that could bring hope.

These groups of people will flock to our churches this Christmas season, and we should prepare for their arrival. We should allow God to soften our hearts so that we can be truly compassionate when they approach our doors. Tears will have to flow from our souls so that they see the love of Jesus through a total stranger. This is what true hope is about. True hope is the kind of hope that is always there, no matter the present state of our life. The only person that can provide true hope is Jesus. This true hope is what I am truly thankful for this season. It would be a shame for me to hold this hope in my heart and not tell others about it.

Will you share your hope?