Monday, September 13, 2010

Advent Devo

One of the pastors at my church is working on putting together a devotional book for the Advent season this year, made up of entries written by various people in our church. Since somehow my English major-ness is well-known among the pastors of our church, he asked me to be a part of editing it and putting it together. And then he asked me if I could write one of the entries.

The book will have 24 entries (one for each day leading up to Christmas, duh). Each of the entries will be on a verse out of the Bible pertaining to one of the advent themes (hope, peace, joy, love).

I read through the options of verses still needing entries. And I had to choose this one.
Romans 8:24-25 "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."
I find the concept of hope so completely compelling, and I love that this verse tells us that hope is only hope if it's for something we can't see (or understand, or know, etc).

But here's the slight dilemma. How can I possibly write 200-250 honest words about this verse without mentioning infertility or pregnancy? Especially seeing as these are the two verses that precede the above:
"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."
I mean, it actually explicitly mentions pregnancy. And this is actually part of the problem. I feel like pregnancy, or even infertility, is a bit trite in the context of these verse. Or too obvious. Even if it is true that I am pregnant after infertility, and that one of the most important lessons I learned from my experience with infertility was about the nature of hope and waiting without seeing.

So instead, I'm working on digging up something else to come at this verse from a different angle.

That 250-word limit is also bound to give me some problems. Think I can slip in a few extra words since I'm the editor?

9 comments:

Jos said...

Hm...interesting. That gets me thinking. :) Good luck deciding what angle you want to take!

Missy said...

I think that would be a great topic to bring up. It doesn't have to be completely about IF, especially since you only have 250 words (although you can take a little editorial liberty). Maybe just talk about the forms of hope in our daily lives, one of which can be hoping each month for a child.

Kakunaa said...

Wow...very apropos. 250 words is hard enough without having to totally edit what it means to you and in that very specific context. Yikes! Good luck. I know you will come up with something fabulous.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is powerful. I wouldn't be able to write it without emphasizing our watchful waiting for our Savior. (O Come, O Come Emmanuel)

If you are looking for advice, let your intimate knowledge of hoping for what you do not see inform your writing process, but do not let it be the subject. Write from the depths of your waiting heart, but write about Christ.

Will you post your final piece? Whatever you decide to do with it, I would love to read it!

cdg said...

That is very interesting and a unique opportunity to include some of your own experiences.
Thank you so much for your comments and support on my blog. As I am not very religious myself, your prespective is very welcomed and certainly opened my eyes, especially about it what it means when someone tells me they are praying for me.
Wishing you well and a easy pregnancy moving forward

Anonymous said...

Interesting...I'm sure you'll find the perfect angle and point of view to make this work out. I would love to read it once you've finished it!

A m a n d a said...

I love the verse you've chosen. Although IF is a personal topic, and may be a little too specific, I don't see any harm in bringing your own experience into it. People tend to connect more to readings when they're spoken from the heart. Your story is a good one :)

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Antiquerain said...

"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all"
-Emily Dickinson