A Letter from the Editor

A Letter From the Editor By Samantha Maiette

Constant change is something I’m familiar with. Growing up in a military household you never knew when a loved one would be heading out on some form of orders. I learned flexibility and resilience. I learned that some things were out of my control and to ‘go with the flow.’ I thought having this knowledge under my belt would prepare me when COVID-19 sent shockwaves throughout our diocese. Boy, was I wrong.

These last few months have created a significant change in how we function as a society. We found ourselves in the midst of a pandemic that I believed I would only ever read about in a history book. I’m sure most of us never believed we would experience something to this magnitude.

COVID-19 shut everything down, our churches, our schools, our normal way of life. It restricted us from seeing our families, our friends, even our coworkers. Everything that grounded us was ripped away.

I thought I was prepared for what the stay-at-home order entailed, but after the first week I began to go stir crazy. I channeled that energy into working out, reading, practicing new work skills and research. I changed.

Change is uncomfortable, but it is unavoidable. It makes life interesting and molds us into the person God wishes us to be.

Recently, someone sent me an article entitled “Five Minutes to Thrive: Conquer the Challenge of Change,” I’m not sure who wrote this article, even after an extensive Google search, but it resonated with me. I journaled over the tips presented, for the first time in a long time God guided my words, my thoughts, He showed me what path He wants me to take. It makes me excited for the future He has laid out.

Listed below are the tips and explantations the author left, the words that helped me focus on the here and now, I leave them here for you hoping they help you grow closer to Him.

1. Changing Your Mindset - sure we love to live life in our comfort zones. It is the “known” and that is where we are most comfortable. Adapting to change is stepping into the “unknown”, which can ignite fear and anxiety. However, if you are able to positively adapt to change, the more resilient you will be in dealing with the impacts of change. 2. Find Meaning in Life - knowing what is important to you gives you purpose and set the direction of how you want to live your life. A sense of purpose gives you clarity and focus. It also helps with being able to adapt and manage the impact of change in your personal life. 3. Let Go of Your Regrets - you cannot change what you did or did not do in the past. The only control you have now is to live your life in the present and look towards the future. It is often said, “hindsight is 20/20”; however, we cannot help what we did not know in the past. We can only move forward and

learn as we go (and grow!). 4. Write a List of Things to Do - THEN DO THEM! - go have fun! Challenge yourself with something new, exciting, scary, and safe! Our subconscious needs to get familiar with us stepping out of our comfort zones and doing scary things. Make a list of scary things that you have been putting off, put a plan in place, and go do them! 5. Live a Balanced and Healthy Life - living balanced and healthy lives builds our resilience and ability to successfully manage the disruption that change can have in our lives. Increased stress is a normal response to dealing with changes and challenges in daily life. Some healthy lifestyle actions to help deal with change are: eating healthy, regular exercise, getting enough sleep, & practicing meditation.

The Sacraments might not have been readily available throughout these troubling times, but maybe this was His way of calling us to look at prayer in a different way. To bring you closer to Him, to have one-on-one conversations with Him. He knows everything that is happening in your life, but He wants to hear it from you directly. Or, maybe He is touching your heart and whispering for you to go out and live His teachings, to showcase His love for the world through you.

We’ll never know why COVID-19 shook the world the way it did. We’ll never know why our lives were upended. But, I believe most of us have changed in beautiful ways, a cracked wineskin has been replaced for a few one, our “it” is changing and we are arming ourselves with hope.

We cannot control change, most of us never ask for change, but we can embrace it and allow it to manifest in ourselves the way God intends. God has knocked us outside our comfort zones for a reason. The changes I’ve seen within myself over these last few weeks make me grateful for this time to pause and selfreflect. I hope each of you takes the time to self-reflect before our lives start to return to our new ‘normal.’

I know for my husband and I, our new ‘normal’ will be in a new place, on a new coast. This last year as editor for this publication has been more than I could have ever asked for. I am grateful for the chance to serve the diocese and better understand everything the Catholic faith can offer.