Once upon a time, a baby was born. Even before that baby was born, there were people waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby.

The people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby didn’t know exactly what that baby would be like.

And so, they wondered:
Would the baby have a smile so warm that it could melt the coldest snow and ice?
Would the baby have a voice so strong that it could shake the very mountains?
Would the baby be so courageous that all would be comforted, even during the most ferocious storms?
Would the baby show the world so much love that peace would settle into even the most hardened hearts?

But even as they asked these questions, as they imagined what the baby might be like, the people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for the baby already believed that the baby would indeed have a warm smile, a strong voice, a courageous spirit, and a loving heart.

And they weren't wrong.

When Jesus was born, his tiny body was wrapped up to keep out the cold. He was laid down on straw, in a trough that was used to feed the animals, inside of a barn. His young parents, proud and exhausted, had been forced to take a long journey, far from home.

Jesus’s parents were two of the people who had been waiting and wishing and hoping for him to be born, but there were people who had been waiting and wishing and hoping for Jesus to come. These people saw hurt and suffering in the world and they believed that this new baby, Jesus, could use his voice to spread a message of love and peace, and they knew it would take courage for him to do so.

But Jesus wasn't the only baby that people have waited and wished and hoped for.

People also waited and wished and hoped for…you.

Once upon a time, you were born.

But even before you were born, there were people waiting and wishing and hoping for you—but those people who were wishing and waiting and hoping for you didn't know exactly what you would be like.

And so, they wondered:

Would you be kind? Would be brave? Would you show love? Would you spread peace and joy?

But even as they asked these questions, as the people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for you imagined what you might be like, what kind of person you might grow up to be, they already believed that you would be kind and brave and loving and that you would spread peace and joy in our world. They knew that you could help ease the suffering and hurt in the world and that you would speak out against violence and oppression.

And they weren't wrong.