***To find the companion Elf on the Shelf Guide, visit my Etsy shop here!***
Day 7
PROVERBS 13:12 DELAYED HOPE MAKES THE HEART SICK, BUT FULFILLED DESIRE IS A TREE OF LIFE.
I love the image of the Tree of Life! Maybe that’s why I have so many Christmas trees in my own home.
Have you ever had a hope for a very long time? I hoped to be a mother for many many years before it happened. My heart really did feel sick during those years. But, once that desire was fulfilled I have felt alive – that tree of life!
In a culture where we are constantly told that we can lose discomfort right now, we have forgotten how to delay our gratification. While delayed hope can make us feel sick, the waiting is often serving a purpose.
I am sure that the people of the Old Testament felt sick waiting and waiting for this Messiah they kept hearing about. Until Jesus came, generations of God’s people lived their entire lives waiting. Contemporaries of Jesus got to experience that desire fulfilled and now we do, too – without the deferred hope!
What is something you are still hoping for?
