From the Editor: Journey through Advent

A few years back, I took an epic road trip with my best friend Stephanie. Sevenvdays, 2,014 miles, two women and one little blue truck. We met in our shared hometown at her father’s to drive his old truck back to her home in Washington state. We’d both lost a parent that year; her mom in January and my dad just weeks before our journey began. Thus, we approached our roadtrip as an homage to them and to our decades-long friendship.
                                                                                 
And though we’ve known each since kindergarten, we still learned a lot about each other in ways you only do when you’re together 24/7 on the open road. For one, I learned that my friend likes to cheat at car bingo and needed nourishment every few hours. She learned how to sleep with a noise machine to block out my snoring.
 
Sure, we had mapped out special stops along the way and also left our schedules open to be spontaneous. And while I’ll never forget the fun we had at the Corn Palace or the majesty of Mount Rushmore, what I really cherished was time spent with my friend; I had conflicting emotions when we reached our final destination. I was glad to be out of the car but sad to see our journey, and our shared time together, come to close.
 
Advent, the opening season of our new liturgical year, can be like a favorite roadtrip with your best friend. These four weeks leading up to Christmas are set aside for us to reflect, pray and be inspired to reach out to those in need as we celebrate the greatest gift God ever gave us, his Son, Jesus. And along this journey, even though we may have spent a lifetime with Jesus, chances are, if you plan your Advent trip correctly, you’ll learn something new about yourself and him.
 
This edition of Southwest Michigan Catholic is devoted to assisting you in having the best Advent journey ever. Bishop Bradley reflects on the true meaning of the seasons as we make note of the three incarnations of Jesus and put our everyday life on pause (see page 4). Our resident marriage expert, Socorro Truchan, addresses how to navigate the holidays as a couple and the importance of starting your own traditions (see page 6). Our Advent feature (see pages 10-13) offers suggestions and resources you may wish to adopt this year, such as how to make a Jesse tree or which saints we honor during this time. And our cover story on Angelica Valdes reminds us to live as disciples each day of our lives, not just in the special seasons.
 
May your Advent journey be filled with unexpected blessings that make your Christmas celebration all the more sweet. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!