I’ve had a hard time holding onto hope this holiday season. Everywhere we turn, there’s another crisis, heartbreak, trauma, or devastation. And in this feeling of helplessness, I’m realizing that having hope is often tied to my taking responsibility for being a solution. But of course, I can’t fix everything, heal everyone, hold it all together, or be a needed savior. That’s not my work; it’s God’s, and we have a Savior. I must do the best I can daily to make ours a more equitable and just world, but then I have to let it go and trust that it’s all in the hands of the Divine. And I must hold on to hope in the midst of it all.
This week, we celebrate the birth of a son, brought into the world through a mother’s courage, pain, endurance, and overcoming faith. A baby who was surrounded and uplifted by deep and Divine love amid a cruel and chaotic world, whose purpose in that world radiates to this day in and through each one of us.
And thanks to ABC News, I learned about another newborn baby, Giannis, and the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Richard Bridgewater, whose profound words of inspiration, affirmation, and hope are a gift to us all. When I watched Dr. Bridgewater’s video, recorded for Giannis on the day he was born, his words captivated me; I couldn’t help but think of that special baby in the manger many generations ago. I also couldn’t help but celebrate the day of my birth and honor my purpose in the world. His viral video brought me much-needed hope, echoing Christ’s first day on Earth, reconnecting me to Jesus’ coming so long ago, and reminding me that every one of us is deeply loved and truly special, and the world will never, ever be the same now that we are in it.
Meet Dr. Bridgewater, little Giannis, and Giannis’ parents:
Doctor’s Words for Affirmation for a Newborn
Shared by Karla Hendrick
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