Hope is that ability to look ahead and know that things are going to be OK.  This is what Jesus promised.  Jesus, through whom all things were made, in which nothing was made that was made, extends to us a promise and that promise is that our hunger and our thirst and those deepest places we long to have filled can be filled through Him. 

But many struggle to discover joy during this Christmas Season for a few reasons. One is feelings from past trauma. Christmas is often a time when a person is reminded of the the conflict and disappointments they experienced in the dysfunctional family they grew up in.

The deep healing in our own hearts and minds begins when we understand that despite the wreck of humanity and this world, despite my own personal sin and weakness, God loves me unconditionally and there is no greater demonstration of God’s love than the cross of Jesus Christ… Let us personalize John 3:16, “For God so loved me that He gave His only Son.”