Christmas Is Coming!!!
Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!!!!
Ahh…the sound of children shouting this phrase brings joy to one’s ears as it signals yet another Christmas is upon us, and the spirit of expectation permeates the atmosphere. While children may shrill in excitement at receiving a special gift or toy, what do we as adults have to look forward to during the holiday season? Of course, adults also dream about that new Lexus ‘toy’ wrapped in a big red bow being parked in their front driveway on Christmas morning (ok, maybe that’s just me😊) but on a deeper level, to what do we look forward to experiencing at Christmas? What do we expect? Do we still dream? Do we still hope?
If we were to use the Advent calendar as our roadmap of how to posture our heart during this season, the first sign on the road to Christmas says “HOPE”. Psalm 33:20 says, “We wait in hope for the Lord…”. Why is this important? We must have our hope IN the Lord because that is where we find our source of goodness. If our hope is in a job, relationship, health, money, or any other resource, our hope equilibrium can very easily be thrown off balance as those entities might take an unexpected turn and strike a negative chord in your life. When we find ourselves disappointed in the outcome of a matter by which we had hoped would produce a more favorable chord, we can lose hope or our attitude can sour. We can become discontented and begin to believe that ‘hope’ is a set-up for a let-down. However, if we transfer our hope from something to the One and Only True God and place our hope in Jesus Christ, we can rest assured in knowing that somehow the goodness of God will come….just like Christ came over 2000 years ago.
Christmas for the City is an event to rejuvenate that hope in the heart of every guest and volunteer. Just as we celebrate Christmas every year, for the past 14 years, we have celebrated Christmas for the City in Winston–Salem and this is our 15th year! We want to bring the expectation that Christ is coming in a special way to our city and we invite you to celebrate with us!
This year, on December 17th from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm at the Benton Convention Center, we endeavor to create a meaningful Christmas experience for the whole community. Our theme for this year is, “A Wonder-Full Christmas” where we hope to have rooms FULL of guests, volunteers and the presence of wonderment and excitement as we all celebrate the birth of Christ! Over this first week of Advent, may your heart be FULL of hope in Christ because Christmas is coming and goodness is coming to your life too!
~Dr. Victoria Hanchell
Volunteer Coordinator
Executive Team, CFTC 2022