{"id":239,"date":"2012-12-08T01:01:25","date_gmt":"2012-12-08T01:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=239"},"modified":"2012-11-28T00:06:02","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T00:06:02","slug":"advent-2012-are-you-afraid-to-say-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2012\/12\/advent-2012-are-you-afraid-to-say-yes.html","title":{"rendered":"Advent 2012: Are You Afraid to Say “Yes”?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Image courtesy of lamnee\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Advent Day 7: Are you afraid to say “Yes”?<\/p>\n

Receiving a diagnosis of an illness is never easy. In fact, it might be nearly impossible to understand. Each of us has our own way of dealing with it. For some, the news of putting a name to symptoms is a relief. For others, it is a thing of terror. Still others cannot face such news and do everything they can to avoid or deny it.<\/p>\n

Today, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are reminded of one woman who said, “Yes” when asked by God\u00a0to do something completely outside her realm of understanding. \u00a0Not “I’ll think about it.” Not, “Can I get back to you?” Not, “Oh, I could never!”<\/p>\n

When the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary and told her that she would conceive and bear a son, Mary asked a very good question, “How can this be..?” And, when the angel answered her question, she immediately and completely agreed. And then, she was able to walk along the path God willed for her.<\/p>\n

For us to walk our path this Advent season and beyond, we, too, need to strive for “Yes,” even with and in spite of illness and pain. Yes,\u00a0these are not easy burdens. But if we deny them, we would be denying part of what makes us us.<\/p>\n

Fear is a natural reaction to anything startling or unwelcome. Mary was afraid when Gabriel first appeared. But her fear quickly turned to acceptance, signaling that trust in God can overcome fear.<\/p>\n

Acceptance does not mean our lives will get worse or better. But it does mean that we stand ready to do God’s work, as Mary did, no matter what we are called upon to do.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}