Be Full of Grace by Donna Koh

New Year, new beginnings. New Year, clean slate. Perhaps what makes a new year so enticing is its untapped potential and promise, the perfect opportunity to make and experience newness and change. Isn’t this the reason why so many decide to make New Year’s resolutions? While I, like many in our fraternity (admit it, teachers!), enjoy both the idea and making of an airtight plan and SMART- goals, 2024 has taught me that God can change the best laid plans overnight, but always with good reason, and always with love. In my teenage years, a friend once remarked that God’s idea of a joke is watching Man make plans. I used to wonder about the implications of this, baffled by the thought that God would upend things when He was the one who gave us free will, confused by the possibility that God could be cruel.

But God is never cruel; He is good all the time. This truth is the only thing that can endure time and outlast civilisations; and to stop holding on to this truth, would mark the beginning of a long and painful downward spiral that takes us further and further from our faith.

No one exemplified pure faith better than Mary, whose surrender to and trust in God gave us the most precious gift ever, and showed the world that God is indeed good all the time. To be visited by Gabriel out of nowhere and informed so abruptly that she would conceive the son of God despite being a virgin, must have been overwhelming and disturbing. The reactions that this scandal would have caused must also have been troubling to imagine and anticipate. Yet two things stand out to me. First, that the most unimaginable or unpleasant news and situation can be reframed if we remember that God holds us in the palm of His hand. I think of how certain pieces of news and requests at work are sometimes delivered with a preamble or a disclaimer, as a complaint, or even accompanied by compliments to put us in the right mood and set the context. Gabriel had announced his arrival saying “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” (Lk 1:28), and upon delivering the news, assured Mary that she had “found favour with God” (Lk 1:30). How striking it is that the emphasis was on how this was neither a punishment nor a travesty, but a special gift of goodness, and a favourable blessing! Uncertainty, pain and worry are part of life, but even if we do not feel exceptionally “favoured” in the moment, we must remember that God is always with us, just like He was with Mary. Without this reminder, we tend to forget that God’s plan is always the best plan and that His favour is all we need to carry us through life. The second thing that strikes me is the way Mary accepted this announcement and upheaval to her life. She asked only one question, confused by the idea that she could conceive despite being a virgin, and then accepted this bold and sudden news, surrendering herself to God’s will and accepting that she was “God’s servant”. Her courage and grace fill me with curiosity, humility and inspiration all at the same time. One might argue that her reaction isn’t just stoic, but downright muted and worlds apart from the reactions that every single one of us is prone to having, especially when things do not go according to our plan. We rationalise our behaviour and reactions all the time, consoling ourselves that we are only human. Well, Mary was human too. Did God choose Mary for this extraordinary task because He knew that she would fulfil His will without complaint? I would like to believe that she rose to the occasion through trust, faith and surrender; she became Mary, Mother of God.

And so, I have no grand plans for the New Year. I think about how Mankind came to have a saviour because one woman chose to say “Yes” to God; and if this is not a reminder that God is good all the time, waiting patiently for us to surrender to His will and say “Yes” to His loving call and plans, then what else can be? Mary’s “Yes” paved the way to the birth of Christ, and she had to bear witness to His pain and suffering later and experience tremendous heartache herself; but this “Yes” also enabled many, many miracles that remind us of the power of faith, and the power of our wonderful and loving God. In 2025, may we be courageous, faithful and “full of grace” like Mary, our Mother.