![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-8Kaji5Mxwxs\/VH0bsAUjD3I\/AAAAAAAABws\/6pN8p8rxcZc\/s1024\/Photo%25252020141201195338.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>I'm the cute one - December 1974<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
And there's even a photo or two of me in front of a menorah. My paternal grandparents were Jewish, so when I was little our family got together with them for Hanukkah celebrations.<\/p>\n
<\/a>A future Catholic's first Hanukkah - December 1971<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
The ancestors on my mother's side were Catholic. So when I was little I used to tell people that I was “half Jewish and half Catholic.” Of course, in reality I was neither. At the time, I thought Christmas and Hanukkah were primarily opportunities to get presents.<\/p>\n
To add to the irony, when I was about fourteen I played Joseph in a live nativity scene at the “All School Sing.” I stood diligently next to Mary, carefully watching over the doll that was acting in persona Christi<\/em> in the manger. If only I had known how powerful a scene this was at that moment.<\/p>\n An Unlikely Joseph - December 1985<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Growing up I spent part of several summers at a Christian summer camp where I experienced several new things: prayers before meals, daily devotions and Sunday services. Clearly there was something about this experience that was appealing. But once I returned home, I didn't put what I was learning into practice. I equate it to trying to learn a new language. If you don't practice, you'll lose it.<\/p>\n I spent three of my four high school years at a Catholic school. I don't recall that Catholic values were in any way ingrained into the curriculum. To my untrained mind, it felt more like a school that happened to be Catholic rather than a Catholic school. But there was a requirement, albeit a loosely enforced one, to attend Mass once a week. I did so, every now and then. I liked the structure of Mass, though I had no idea what it really meant and took no action to learn more. What a wasted opportunity!<\/p>\n There was far less religious influence during my college years. I attended a Methodist school, but the only time I can remember stepping into the chapel was the day I graduated because the chapel was the staging area where the graduates lined up.<\/p>\n It wasn't until my early thirties when someone, who I married a few years later, asked me if I wanted to attend Mass. To her surprise, I enthusiastically said, “Yes!” Once again I was fascinated by the structure of the Mass. But this time, I paid attention and wanted to learn more.<\/p>\n At the risk of having to use the clich\u00e9 “to make a long story short,” I will just jump ahead and tell you that my next and most important step in my faith journey was entering the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass in 2005.<\/p>\n Now I can clearly recognize so many times beginning in childhood when the Lord was tapping me on the shoulder trying to get my attention. But I must not have been listening. I look back on that long period of my life as a 30+ year Advent. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was preparing for something big.<\/p>\n Jesus waited so long for me. The least I can do this Advent is humbly prepare and wait for Him.<\/p>\n [Advent Challenge:<\/strong> Think of all the times throughout your life that Jesus waited patiently for you. Yes, He is still<\/em> waiting.]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I waited and waited and waited, then God finally showed up about three decades later. Actually, I have that backwards. It's the Lord who waited so long for me, and I finally showed up. With all that waiting in mind, Advent is a prudent time to ponder the past and prepare for the future. My… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[384,383,252,1974,1030],"class_list":["post-65154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-faith-blog","tag-advent","tag-christmas","tag-conversion","tag-conversion-story","tag-jewish","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n