When I first signed up to write a gospel reflection for this Sunday, it had slipped my mind that Sunday, November 8th was the Sunday immediately following Election Day. The days leading up to Election Day were days of some of the highest anxiety I had felt in a while. What would the next four years look like? How would the American people respond? My mind had gone to all the worst places and seemed to settle there as we, as a country, awaited the results. I had mentioned to Jim that I was feeling anxious and he shared this simple yet meaningful message with me: “
Hope comes from God. Despair does not. Listen to the voices (interior and exterior) that encourage you. Any voice saying ‘It’s hopeless’ is not coming from God. Follow the voice of hope. Ignore that despair.”
This Sunday’s gospel shares a similar sentiment. There is so little that we have control over when we follow God’s plan. With uncertainty comes anxiety. But with trust in God comes hope. In stressful times, we often stray from focusing on the present and finding God there. Centering ourselves in His will is the first step to everything else falling into place. I had been so focused on the things that I don’t have control over, like the results of the election or how people respond to it. In the process, I had forgotten that God’s call to us doesn’t change. He calls us to be His hands and feet and to do his work. He invites us to see Him in the people around us. He calls us to serve our communities. He calls us to be advocates for justice. None of that changes, regardless of who is president. While I have very strong feelings about the election, I have to remind myself that
I walk not with any president or leader, but ultimately with God.
Living with anxiety, my brain often tries to prepare for the unpredictable and fixate on all the worst possibilities. I am not saying that God is a cure for anxiety but at the very least, reminding myself of that I am at the mercy of His will provides a sense of comfort. No amount of planning or research or overthinking could prepare me for the path that God has paved for me. I tend to spend a lot of time trying to prepare for the road ahead, but the route that God has set up for us isn’t one you’re going to find on Google Maps; it is one that He guides us along, there with us every step of the way. So today, I remind myself and remind all of you that all we can really do is take this path one step at a time.