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« Back to All Daily Grace

Happy and complete

12.9.2016
|
Daily Grace

I have struggled with gratitude, with the knowledge that what God has given me is enough.

Often it has been far too easy to look at the accomplishments of a friend, the wardrobe of another woman and find myself thinking there is something else out there that will make me feel happy and complete.

Of course, deep down I know being “happy and complete” is not what this life is about. Chasing only the joyful moments can mean missing out on some of the most important lessons God is teaching us.

This is what makes the Advent season both beautiful and painful. In Advent we wait knowing that the birth of Jesus is coming, but we also wait with hope for what we don’t know is ahead. The life of a Christian is one filled with longing.

Christmas is coming. Until then, let us wait with purpose. Let us wait with confidence, with hope, with peace.

This message is an excerpt of the Voices column, “Be the buttonhole,” by Sarah Carson in the December 2016 issue of Gather magazine.

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Women of the ELCA
25 Jan
Women of the ELCA
@WomenoftheELCA

While every person's grief experience is unique, what unites us is a need to express our emotions. Today's blogger tells us how using art as an outlet helps us pour out those feelings. #grief #creativity ow.ly/SwOe50Dhi8N pic.twitter.com/x0sWHypyZf

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