Christmas: Real hope, real change

Ideally, every one of us awakes each morning with renewed hope in the possibilities before us. We look at the unfolding day as a new opportunity to accomplish our goals and fulfill our purpose. Okay, truth be told, most of us are just glad we dragged ourselves out of bed so we could get to work on time. But there's something about the Christmas season, if not any other time, that finds us joyous, energetic and hopeful. Unfortunately, I've learned, this is not so for Michelle Obama, who is still smarting from an election loss.

In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Mrs. Obama said that hope had departed the country following the election of Donald Trump. According to the first lady, his landslide electoral college victory has deposited despair and is responsible for a blanket of hopelessness covering the nation. I'm not sure her assessment is accurate for the vast majority of Americans, but in her mind, it is, and you know what they say about perception and reality. So she projects her feelings upon the rest of us.

After her remarks became public, Fox News' Tucker Carlson took viewers of his new show back to the 2008 presidential election. He reminded us that upon her husband's election as president, Michelle Obama confessed that "for the first time," she was proud of her country. And now that "hope and change" have run out of time, she, again, has no hope. Her conversation with Oprah leaves the impression that, to her, hope is her husband. She seems to believe the country ascribes to that perspective, as well. What I see is someone who has placed an awful lot of hope in one man, rather than the man.

The wonder of Christmas is that even those who took their eyes off Christ throughout the year find themselves refocusing on Him as they contemplate the reason for the season. They walk through malls humming songs pouring out of speakers -- "Joy to the World," "Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" among them. They receive "Merry Christmas" wishes from strangers and gladly return them. They even touch base with relatives with whom they have not spoken since last year, as they remember -- yet again -- why they stopped speaking regularly to these relatives years ago. But in the spirit of the holiday, they find it a worthwhile sacrifice.

People feel alive and full of hope this time of year not because of the President of the United States, but because of the King of kings. The kind of hope of which Michelle Obama spoke is fleeting because people come and go, their promises along with them. If we place ultimate trust in politicians, or even musicians and athletes, each of us will experience the despair Michelle Obama expressed. No, thank you.

This all takes me back to the old hymn I grew up singing in church: "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less." Some of the lyrics state, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand." All these years later, I still love that song. In fact, I love it even more because life experiences make it ring all the more true.

People on both sides of the aisle may wish to throw away the results of this election, but they must never throw away hope. Christmas is a good time to refocus on Christ and to reconnect with Him. As we do, we are filled with real hope, and we experience its power to change our lives. Then, nothing -- no election, no politician, no businessman -- will ever sit upon the throne of our lives and occupy the space suited only for One. Now, that's good tidings of great joy.

Merry Christmas!

Adrienne Ross is an author, speaker, columnist, editor, educator and Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Reach her at aross@semissourian.com.