Making Room

Here we are, December and in less than 24 hours the Advent season is here! I really love Advent and this time of year, yet I have a difficult time balancing the things of the secular world -seasons greetings and ho ho ho and holiday cheer, and the peaceful and angelic world of the Christian world of this season. I want to be more intentional with my gift giving as well as well as my time this year. To really prepare myself well for this very special and important season that can easily be overlooked and overly familiar. But it's not overly familiar since we can also gain something from it year after year, as we are always growing and changing and learning new things about our faith and about ourselves as well. That's the beauty in it all and the richness which we need not quickly pass by or overlook, and that's what I want to teach myself as another Advent and Christmas season is on the horizon.

I would like to really value and appreciate all the blessings of this year and have more time for reflection and going deeper. As a melancholy introvert, I very much need my alone time to process and take time for myself where I can hone in on my needed energy and inspiration again. I want to find more time in the day to relish this as it can be so easy to do other things and get busy with work and volunteer, which are all good, though this time of nourishment and preparation need to be found outside of work and the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

I felt that this week was an adjustment to get back into the swing of things after the busy Thanksgiving holiday week/end. It felt like a busy break for me, and my rejuvenation period didn't feel as long as I would like it to. There were various things going on this week- studying for my upcoming CBEST test, volunteer, work, parish library organization, adoration, exercise class, cooking, errands, heavy reading...

The weeks can go by quickly but they are also tiring but nicely touched with variety and change of scenery from day to day. I am grateful for this season where I can be on a one on one basis with my students and make it my own. To help my mom with the parish library brings me comfort and inspiration to make this place inviting and cozy and interesting. My passion for books and reading has come out in another way and I'm happy to use it in an unique way!

 Serving local seniors weekly gives me a sense of purpose and joy and moments of interaction with them also please me. Exercise class gives me a lot of energy which I didn't know I had, and gives me space and outlet for my dance moves. Adoration is a nice time to stop and slow down, pray and reflect in the middle of the week. The heavy reading that I did this week made me reflect more on all that I have and all that I should be much more grateful for. Reading an immigrant/refugee story is heart wrenching, at times painful, very intriguing and also heart breaking, with a glimmer of a happy ending. I couldn't put the book down, and I truly felt I was in the midst of war torn Syria, experiencing what determined and courageous Doaa, a young woman who was facing and enduring with her family. They eventually were able to flee to Egypt until things were exceedingly getting worse there as well. Her soon to be husband suggested traveling to Europe and making a better life for themselves there. All tragedy and evil break loose, so I will stop there. I knew about the refugee crisis facing our modern world today, but not in much detail. My international studies classes had touched upon them but not to this level, and it made me interested in learning more about this severe issue that is complex, yet something to not be overlooked.

Reading this highly interesting and remarkable story, 'A hope more powerful than the sea' made me reflect upon refugees and all that they have to go through, experience and endure in order to make a better life and future for their family and dear loved ones. In Jesus' time, Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus were refugees fleeing King Herod and finding a safe haven. Even upon Jesus' birth, traveling and searching for enough room for Him to lay. It made me think if I have enough room to help in some way refugees experiencing crisis, and to make more room for Jesus in my life and in my heart throughout this Advent and Christmas season and into the new liturgical year.