Advent Guide: You BelongSample

When Hope Was Born

Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year – the awe, the wonderment, the magic that seems to fill the air and wrap all your senses up like a warm blanket. The season is always filled with expectation and excitement for me.

I cherish planning and cramming in as many traditions as I can for my kids, and as a single mom, I have had to get creative on a tight budget. My kids call me "Queen of Christmas" because I tend to go a little overboard on Christmas décor – I even hang fake snowflakes from the ceiling with thumbtacks.

But what does Christmas look like when your world gets shaken up?

In 2021, I lost my younger brother unexpectedly and the year was filled with heaviness and unbearable grief. And as the holiday season approached, it felt even heavier. The magic and sparkle were dulled by pain and loss.

I remember sitting at an event a few weeks before Christmas and they began singing carols. Tears rolled down my eyes, because "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" didn't feel so wonderful – it felt lonely and painful.

But God met me there – he reminded me he came into this world to be that healing balm to the brokenness and hurt – to deliver hope. The weary world was groaning in all its depravity and didn't know what was about to come.

A young couple waited in a dirty barn and as the very breath of heaven was birthed into this helplessness, light burst forth to bring hope in a Savior who loved us enough to give us his throne in heaven and bring you and I true purposeful, meaningful life – if we just believe.

So, whether this season is infused with all of the Christmas pleasantries, or you sit here with a tear-stained face, my prayer is you cling tightly to hope – because that is what was birthed into our world so many Christmases ago.

Larissa Plunto is the Gulf Coast development officer for Buckner International. She lives in Katy, Texas, with her two daughters and crazy golden retriever, Pixie. She has a heart for serving single moms and orphans. Larissa was adopted through Buckner as an infant 44 years ago and is in awe God has brought her full circle to now serve with Buckner.