by Jennifer Wright

What is the most full of hope you have ever been?

I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s been parenthood. Nothing has given me a feeling of expectation and desire for good than becoming a mother. From the very first positive pregnancy test—and even before as I hoped and prayed for a child—I found more hope for my life, my child’s life, my child’s future, and the future of our world, than ever before.

That may not be everyone’s experience (for many who enter a pregnancy center, fear overcomes any hope, at least at first), but it does give me a new outlook on the Advent story.

The story of Mary and Joseph preparing for the coming of Jesus and all that came with it was certainly full of fears, but also hope.

While Mary certainly asked how this could happen, she gave her admirable answer: Let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38)—and joyfully went to celebrate with her cousin and prepared for her child’s birth. On the other hand, Joseph’s reaction was something that those of us in pregnancy help might be more familiar with, confusion and uncertainty. Joseph needed an angel of the Lord coming to him in a dream to be convinced that it was right to stand by her (Matthew 1:20).

I wonder what it was like to have hope not only for this one child and this one family but hope for all of mankind because of this one child. And I wonder what it was like to feel that hope while looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem, knowing that the time for their son's birth was coming soon.

Mary and Joseph saw the hope of their child’s arrival on the faces of shepherds and wise men who came to see this precious little child.

For others, it is different. The hope that comes with a child is hard to see when you’re facing addiction, rape, domestic violence, or simply a pregnancy that wasn’t part of the plan. You speak that hope into the lives of parents every day when you offer real solutions to the obstacles that can make a pregnancy feel like a crisis.

Just like the angels who came to Mary and Joseph, you help them see the hope that comes with new life.

My two precious children, Maria (named in part for Mary, Queen of Apostles) and Christopher (literally 'Christ-bearer'), are the hope for me and my family every day. (And yes, I know I have a naming theme.) We waited, prayed, and yes, hoped for them. Now, I have hope for the lives they will live—from school to work to families they will lead. They are sparks of joy for my parents and grandparents. They inspire their aunts and uncles—sometimes even giving them hope for a better future. My kids, now just 3 and 1.5, offer grounds for believing that something good can happen, and that tomorrow will be better than today.

My biggest hope is that they will live up to their names and help bring Christ to the world because it is His coming that offers hope for us all:

Hope that there is something more than this broken world.

Hope that we will experience eternal life.

Hope that love, truth, beauty, and goodness prevail.