A pause to remember the excitement
We all bear a cross.
My cross is being born on Christmas Eve.
I understand this sounds very dramatic, but with a birthday on Christmas Eve, there’s going to be a bit of a drama that follows you. It was very hard as a kid to share my birthday, and not be able to complain about it (because, you know, I was pretty much sharing it with the Son of God).
As you can imagine, my birth story was also dramatic. As my parents lived on the opposite side of the country from our family, and I was originally due on December 14th, they found friends and neighbors who could watch my older sister when the time came to go to the hospital.
However, as I stayed comfy in my mother’s womb, those friends slowly left to celebrate with their own families. As Christmas came closer, we made plans with a Jewish family down the street who could watch my sister. The plans seemed set until they were out running an errand when my mother’s water broke at home on Christmas Eve! A quick delivery later, and I was wrapped in a Christmas stocking in the nursery, my family’s Christmas dinner set in the hospital cafeteria.
2,000 years ago, another Jewish family experienced a dramatic birth. I’m sure they also had plans made before they were forced to journey to Bethlehem. Many of our clients have plans that are made before an unexpected pregnancy surprises them, or until they are forced to journey to a destination where they knock on door after door, many remaining shut.
As a child, I did enjoy one thing about having my birthday this time of year. Every time we lit a candle at Mass, it felt like we were counting down to my birthday. The closer we got, the more excited I was. Advent was bringing a new year in my life. Now that I’m a bit older, I can recognize that it brings a new year for all of us.
Today, as we light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath, let us pause in this excitement. Let us be reminded of the excitement we felt as children, reflect on the excitement of John the Baptist in his mother’s womb, and share our excitement with others who now have a new beginning, a new birth, maybe even… an advent.
Devyn Buschow currently serves as the parish relations program manager at Catholic Charities Dallas. She enjoys crocheting, spending time at the hockey rink with her family, and visiting new parishes. Early in her life, she spent a week in the 1980’s.