The Year That is to Come II
Well, it's that time again.
One year ago ago I said that action was going to be the word for 2008. For 2009, I'm going with hope. I could have just as easily gone with change, but that will be my runner-up word. In 2008 the word changed around us, and I believe that in 2009 we catch up, and our personal lives will change as a result of the cataclysmic global changes of 2008.
So why hope then? Let's work it backwards: Everything must change if we are to truly get back onto the kingdom track. Change can be frightening, and change can be painful. But, there is no growth without pain. And there is no hope without growth.
Nobody ever said this would be easy, but it will be worth it.
I want to end this post (and invite your comments) with the same poem that I used last year:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among brothers,
to make music in the heart.(Howard Thurman, The Work of Christmas
A Grateful Heart p. 74)
Amazing you should say this...I just really had the word'' hope'' on my heart this afternoon :)
Posted by: gabi | December 31, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Mike, we once again used this piece by Thurman as we sat down to our Christmas dinner. It is a good one to read, and read, and re-read.
Posted by: stephanie | January 01, 2009 at 09:00 AM
mike... this is an amazing poem... l keep going back to it and will have a copy on my fridge... sometimes we need a reminder.
Posted by: Betty Todd | January 02, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Interesting...we usually predict what kind of word our year will bring but always end up 'calling it' at the end. Last year was a year marked by pain/empathy, and we just predicted 2009 to be our year of 'hope.' Looking forward to hope-ing through 2009 with people like you. Thanks for this great poem.
Posted by: wendi | January 02, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Yes, yes, yes! Tomorrow, I begin my sermon series '2 Things 2 B in 09' with a January series on being a peacemaker. This poem will fit this series. AMEN!
Posted by: Jim Kane | January 03, 2009 at 08:48 PM