Facing the Unexpected with the Holy Family

“Wow, what’s going on?” asked Bevo, my elderly cockapoo, as he looked at the closed door of my home office. “This is my office, and it is already 8:30! Have I been laid off, Dad???”

Every morning, after he wakes up and does his backyard routine, Bevo marches straight to my home office. For over four years now, ever since I moved to this house, he’s faithfully “worked” beside me, lounging through my meetings and all. But this Christmas, when I turned the office into a makeshift bedroom to accommodate our kids and their loved ones, poor Bevo was thoroughly confused. Without his usual spot, he doesn’t know what to do during the day.

While this story is amusing (and don’t worry—Bevo’s back at his post now!), it also serves as a gentle reminder. Life can throw unexpected changes at us, big and small. This Christmas, I was deeply blessed to have the whole family together, healthy and well. But I know that for many, the season isn’t all merry and joy. Some lost loved ones to illness, car/plane accidents, or even murder and war. Others lost their jobs. Just in the past two months, a couple of my customers and one good friend suffered that setback.

In her wisdom, the Catholic Church reminds us that even the Holy Family faced the unexpected. In the last Sunday’s reading of 2024, taken from Luke 2:41-52, we heard how Joseph and Mary frantically searched for the 12-year-old Jesus after realizing they had left him somewhere behind. Only three days later, they found him still in the Jerusalem Temple! This was neither the first nor the last time they would face an unexpected event. But as Sr. Jeana Visel, OSB, reflected in Give Us This Day: “In the arms of a loving God, though, all will be transformed.” For the better, I’d say.

As we step into 2025, my heart and prayers go out to those navigating unexpected challenges. May the Lord bring out the best in your lives and may you – like Joseph and Mary – keep your trust in Him!

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.

(Psalms 27:1,3, taken from Bible Gateway, NRSVCE)