She Has the Gumption

dec21

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!

The Lord is with you.

How many times have we heard this before? It is said at every Mass, at every Baptism, at every Confirmation, at every marriage, at every funeral, every single day. We say it to our families, we say it to our friends, and we say it to the congregation.

For most of my life, we followed this exclamation with, “and also with you!” And now we say, “and with your spirit.” (Frankly, it’s been so automatic for so many years, that I still slip up and say, “and also with you” but that’s another story.) It’s completely automatic. It is a foundation of our church.

The Lord is with me.

He is by my side through every moment, even when I reject Him, even when I don’t feel like I deserve Him. In only a few short days, we celebrate the day God sent His only Son to earth. He was sent to live out an earthly life and to die an earthly death. He was sent for me. My mind is constantly struck dumb at this notion. I have a hard time accepting the fact that the Lord is with me. But He is always with me. Always.

The Lord is with her.

Like every other person past, present, and future, the Lord is with Mary. God sent His son to die for her sins, just like everyone else. But unlike everyone else, the Lord is with her . . . literally. Mary has always held a special place in my heart. I often picture the moment the angel Gabriel came to her. If I were in her sandals, I would have scoffed and wondered where the hidden cameras were. But what did she do? She said, “Let it be to me according to your word.”

I mean, who is this woman? She accepted the power of the Holy Spirit and became the mother of Our Lord! This gal had serious gumption. What courage, what faith! Whenever I doubt my abilities, I think of Mary and when she said, “Bring it on."

Samantha Aguinaldo-Wetterholm is a wife, mom, and soon-to-be-dentist currently living in San Francisco, California. You can find out more about her here.