Reflection for Saturday, Dec. 18
When I take a close look at this story, I see a story of personal struggle and reflection, and of learning the importance of looking deeper into a situation than what first meets the eye. I also see a story of trusting your faith to the fullest. When Joseph first learns of Mary’s pregnancy, he is devastated, as one betrothed would be in a similar situation. He goes through a quiet personal struggle dealing with the situation in front of him and reflects on their story. However, once he gets the message from the angel, everything starts to make sense.
Joseph did not give up hope completely, and he trusted his faith and believed the angel. That takes a lot of maturity and a deep hard look into a situation that many others would have doubted. I think this story is incredibly prevalent in our lives today as well.
For example, when I am working with dogs at my job as a dog daycare attendant and kennel worker, I often come across a dog who is troubled and having a really hard time adjusting to the environment. The dog may be lashing out or closing himself off to people altogether. It can be very frustrating and hard to understand the dog's situation at first.
“Why can’t you just behave, what did I do wrong to cause this behavior, how am I going to fix this?” ... are some of the thoughts that sometimes run through my mind. However, it is only after I take a step back, and view the situation from a completely different angle that I can find the solution. When I look at it from the dog's point of view, I can understand what’s going on. Of course, the poor dog is acting out. He has just been thrown into a hectic kennel environment and people he doesn’t know are asking him to do all these different new things. Once I understand that, I can help the dog adjust better and make him more comfortable.
I invite the readers of this reflection to step back and look at events in their own lives, step back, and ask “what are we being asked to consider? To do? To accept? It just goes to show that by taking a reflective step back and really digging deep at all possible scenarios, you can come to a complete sense of understanding and clarity.
Bev Brazauskas and Marissa Fagan