Women of Mission: Following the Star
“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage’” (Matthew 2:1-2).
The Advent and Christmas seasons are full of journeys. At the beginning of Advent, we read that Mary, soon after conceiving Jesus, traveled what must have been a very physically challenging journey to stay with her cousin Elizabeth. Then, when we celebrate Christmas, we read about Mary and Joseph’s (again, likely very difficult) journey to Bethlehem, where Mary gave birth to her Son. Finally, at Epiphany, we read about the Wise Men’s journey to meet their Savior.
This year has been a journey. Every year is, but 2020, especially, has felt more arduous and demanding than most that we have seen. Traveling through the last 12 months has left many of us feeling weary, disconnected, and distracted.
However, Advent is a gift, a time for us to remember our mission and why we are traveling this journey as Christians seeking a closer union with our Savior.
As we travel through Advent and begin 2021, allow your eyes and heart to be redirected and transformed by the light of Christ. As Mary, Joseph, and the Wise Men followed the star of Bethlehem, let us focus ourselves this Advent on Jesus, our true star, our hope, our light, and our God.
This Advent, I am six months pregnant with our first child. When I found out that I was pregnant back in July, I told God that I wanted my pregnancy to be a pilgrimage. I’ve never traveled on an official pilgrimage before but have alway wanted to walk the Camino. Since I’m not currently planning a physical pilgrimage to a holy site, I decided to ask the Lord to make this nine-month pregnancy an offering, a journey to a new land, into parenthood and new beginnings.
As usually happens when you give the Lord your plans, He surprised me with something completely unexpected. This pregnancy has been everything I didn’t expect. Since week five, I have experienced extreme nausea, vomiting, and exhaustion that has wiped out all of my plans for this pregnancy. In August, we traveled to a long-awaited family reunion in Montana; I spent the entire trip in bed. For over three months, I was bedridden, unable to fully give myself to my team at work and relying on my husband for almost everything. Our annual fall camping trip as a couple was canceled.
I know that this sounds like many people’s 2020. Grand plans for the year, completely gone. Disappointments galore and many tears shed. As a human family, we can all deeply relate to the feelings of loss, defeat, and grief after the last 12 months.
When we were praying about our Catholic Women in Business Advent theme for this year, I couldn’t help but think of the many journeys, literal and metaphorical, that surround the Nativity story: Mary’s trip to stay with her cousin, Elizabeth. Joseph’s change of heart after Gabriel visited him in his dream. Mary and Joseph’s trying journey across many days and miles. The Bethlehem star that gave the wise men a glimmer of hope that their years of searching were not for naught.
None of these journeys was expected. Not one of the Biblical characters involved in the Nativity had planned for their life to go along this course. However, as a reader, seeing the story unfold from a 360-degree viewpoint, we know that every piece of the puzzle of Jesus’ birth had a purpose.
The beauty of a journey that is set forth before you by the Lord is that you can trust the outcome.
God does not waste our time and suffering. He is a good Father who is always with His children and hears our cries. Although we might not understand His perspective on this side of Heaven, we can rest in knowing that when we are rooted in Christ, our lives will always bear fruit and lead to Him.
Although our years may have looked drastically different than we had anticipated in January 2020, we can rejoice knowing that it is in this very journey that we find the Christ child, the answer to all of our heart’s longings.
This Advent season, we’ll be sharing articles with you surrounding the theme of mission: stories of how we are all traveling along this journey of Advent. As we move through Advent and into the new year, our CWIB team will be praying for you. Our prayer is that you find moments of peace and clarity through these articles.
May you gaze upon the star of Bethlehem in your own life and know of the Lord’s promise to you.
Elise Crawford Gallagher, co-founder and co-president of Catholic Women in Business, is the founder and CEO of RINGLET, a digital marketing and brand management agency that works with women business owners in the Washington DC area. Elise graduated with a master’s in communication from Johns Hopkins University. She worked in the Catholic non-profit world before starting RINGLET. Her concentrations were in public and media relations and digital communications. She currently lives in Maryland with her college-sweetheart-turned-husband, who is a high school theology teacher and law student.