Hopefully/Thankfully

My first grade son often confuses the words
"hopefully" and "thankfully".
He uses them interchangeably.

At first
my wife and I smiled,
thought it cute,
and corrected him.
He continues to mix them up;
now we just smile at each.

But I've been thinking
this Advent season:
Hopefully Thankfully are intertwined
and cannot be separated.

The things I hope for,
I am also thankful for.
The things that I am thankful for
give me hope.

Notice below:

At Christmas, we remember hopefully
that Jesus came among us.
Thankfully Jesus fulfilled
God's promises. 

We will live thankfully
as God's beloved children
knowing God's love in Jesus Christ.
God has made his love hopefully real and tangible to us
in the babe born in Bethlehem.

Now exchange the words "thankfully" and "hopefully":

At Christmas, we remember thankfully
that Jesus came among us.
Hopefully Jesus fulfilled
God's promises. 

We will live hopefully
as God's beloved children
knowing God's love in Jesus Christ.
God has made his love thankfully real and tangible to us
in the babe born in Bethlehem.

Seems the meaning is the same in both.

So this Christmas,
I am thankful/hopeful for each of you.
May God fill your lives with
thankful/hopeful moments of grace.

I am hopeful/thankful for my son
who taught me to be hopeful/thankful!
Merry Christmas!