From the Editor: A Return to Normalcy

By: Kierstin Richter

For nine long months, we’ve carried a weight that’s become heavier and heavier. We’ve waited in anticipation of when everything goes back to "normal." Like Mary, as she carried her child, we’ve carried the weight of anticipation within us, unsure of what the next year would look like. For her, I’m sure she had her doubts. Honestly, I’m sure she was so scared. An unexpected pregnancy in a time without modern medical care when many women died in childbirth? In a time when you would be stoned for adultery, and you're carrying a child who isn't the biological son of the man you're married to?

In addition to the thought of actual childbirth, Mary also had the thought of the new journey of motherhood in the next year, something she had never experienced, nor had she expected to come so quickly, I'm sure. What was her future going to look like?

Even when God tells you everything is going to be okay, we still have moments of fear - of apprehension and skepticism of the unknown. Even when we truly feel God has told us everything is going to be okay, and it's all in His plan, we're still human. We still have moments of doubt. But the dynamic nature of our faith is what makes it worth living.

Being scared doesn't mean you don't have faith. Being frightened of the future is a very human response. But the problem doesn't come when you feel scared, it comes when you make rash decisions because of that fear. That's not having faith. The opposite of faith isn't fear. It's the need to be in control. Mary could have said no. Mary could have told God she wasn't up for it, and she wanted a normal life for a normal girl. But if she wouldn't have taken on this challenge, we wouldn't have much of a nativity story, would we?

So what do we do in this anticipation of a new year? We take a deep breath, and we trust that this year has truly prepared us for anything. Whether things get easier or harder, it won't matter, because regardless, we've built a faith that can carry us through anything. On the advent of this new liturgical year, we have a moment to rest. Anticipation can be exciting, but it can also be exhausting.

A lot has changed this year. We’ve found new ways of coping and new ways of living. We’ve lived in anticipation of a time where the world goes back to normal. But even for Mary, her long pregnancy may have been over, but that doesn’t mean things went back to normal. Her life changed substantially with this new baby, this new life.

But things didn't go back to normal for Mary, did they? Her next year looked a whole lot different. And yeah, it was definitely harder, but wow, didn't it make a heck of a story?

Note: You may notice there's no national news in this issue. It's because it's Christmas-time, and everyone deserves a break from the chaos of this year. Eat some tamales and be jolly.