Everyday Holiness

Christina Estes lives in Thibodaux with her husband Stephen where the couple are expecting their first child this January. The Esteses are parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas. Christina is currently in school to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner while she works part time as a nurse.
 
How do you pursue holiness during Advent?
 
Advent is one of my favorite times of year that I associate with meditation and wonder. I try to pursue holiness during the Advent season by focusing on those two aspects, trying to slow down, while limiting the busy-ness and distractions around me. Even though doing this isn’t always easy, I try to incorporate small things into the season like listening to advent songs in the car, lighting the advent wreath every night, or reading a line or two of Scripture each day.
 
How has life changed now that you’re expecting your first child? Has that changed the way you’ve entered Advent?
 
Last Advent and this one have looked very different than in years past. Last year I was married during the Advent season on December 9^th, followed by our honeymoon. My husband and I joke that we skipped a few weeks of Advent last year and went straight to celebrating Christmas because we felt like engagement was one long Advent. This year Advent looks different as we are now married with a baby due in late January. Both times I have found the season to be full of wonder, hope, fear, and waiting. This year, I have been able to enter the season by contemplating how Mary felt during her pregnancy and trying to emulate her trust in the face of so many unknowns. I love to think about the last few days she had in Bethlehem. After her long journey, at nine months pregnant and with nowhere to stay, she held the Lord in her arms and the angels sang.
 
What is your favorite part of Advent?
 
My favorite part of Advent is the spirit of hope and joyful waiting that surrounds the season. It is for me a time of remembering Jesus will come again one day and that I do not need to give into despair over the brokenness and suffering in the world, but I can rest knowing God will come again like he promised the Israelites.
 
Who is your favorite Saint and why?
 
My favorite saint is St. Mary Magdalene. I have come to love her as a saint because despite her past life of sin and her status as a woman she became one of the greatest disciples sometimes referred to as the “apostle of the apostles”. She believed in Jesus’ love for her so deeply that she remained with him until the very end while He was on the Cross and was at his tomb when he was first risen. I believe that God appeared to her first after his resurrection because of how faithful she had been and because of how much she loved him. That inspires a deeper desire in me to be like her.
 
What excites you the most about being a mother for the first time? What scares you (if anything)?
 
I am most excited about getting to meet the new little one and discovering the person God created them to be! I like to joke, lots of things scare me – we live in a crazy world, but I have trust that God will take care of our little one and will help us in whatever life brings.
 
Do you have a favorite Advent prayer or hymn? 
 
My favorite Advent hymn is O Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. I have a favorite version I enjoy listening to during advent by the artist Page CXVI.
 
What is your favorite meal this time of year? 
 
As a pregnant woman, every meal is my favorite meal.   
 
What advice do you have for people who want to grow in holiness during this season?
 
My advice for those who want to grow in holiness during this season is to know that Jesus will do all the work in helping us become holy we just need to let him in and be with him. I’m still trying to learn that myself.