I read a great and touching story recently:

When a powerful typhoon swept through the city of Tacloban, Philippines, in 2013, an estimated 10,000 people died, and many who survived found themselves homeless and jobless. necessities became scarce. Three months later, while the town was still struggling to dig itself out from the destruction, a baby was born on a roadside near Tacloban amid torrents of rain and strong wind. Although the weather brought back painful memories, residents worked together to find a midwife and transported the mother and newborn to a clinic. The baby survived, thrived, and became a symbol of hope during a time of despair.

I know another baby who came amidst an upheaval (Luke 2:1). Other than an innkeeper who possibly offered the stable, shepherds who visited, and a caring husband, a mother brought forth a baby who offered the ultimate hope. He survived, thrived, died, rose again, and all while saying, “Come to me” and “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Trouble is unavoidable and we may feel like giving up and all hope is lost. That baby-Jesus-says, “No. Don’t give up. I have the power to rescue you.”

“Father, may I remember through all the good and bad which happens that You are my hope.”