Most fairy tales have much in common. There's a villian, and there's pretty a girl who, though she's a princess, lives under oppression and is waiting for someone to come and rescue her. That someone is usually Prince Charming who delivers the princess by defeating the villain and taking her away to live with him in his kingdom. Such fairy tales expressed the hope to struggling people that someone good will come along and make things better.
A few years back on New Year's Day I received a phone call took me to a seedy motel room where three young adults "lived" with two small children, one about three and the other barely a year old. Their mother was in her mid twenties, hoping to get work after the holidays. The young man was about 21, just out of jail and also looking for work. The 17 year old girl said she had no ID and was probably a runaway. I asked about their plans and gave them some grocery certificates for food and information on a temp agency nearby. Then I paid three nights rent at the office and took the 17 year-old to get some clothes from our church's clothing bank.
Through it all, I kept trying to hold down a nasty cough I'd caught, but also a nasty feeling about their future. These three young folks weren't related and had little in common except the will to survive another day. All they'd wanted was a day's rent -- I'm not sure they looked beyond each day. The mother said she'd work while the 17 year-old cared for her kids. I had no idea what the future held for them. Yet today, there are many such people who are trying to get by, and it's doubtful any Prince Charming will come along to rescue them.
And yet there was cause for hope, not merely the hope of work or money or health or home, but hope that lasts, the hope God gives us, hope that comes from trusting Jesus to bring us through each day, through life and into eternity. He taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," and that is a prayer of faith. You and I will live our lives only one day at a time during 2008, and any day that includes Jesus can be a good one. True, it may have struggles and pain, but when Jesus is our Immanuel, our "God With Us", we will be okay, no matter what 2008 may bring.
My prayer is that your new year is filled with such hope and faith
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