This year, my Grade 7 students were blessed to be able to spiritually “adopt” the unborn child of one of our staff members. Following a prayer service on reverence for life, we placed the baby’s ultrasound picture on our prayer table and continue to pray daily for the baby, her mother, and all unborn babies. One day at prayer, a boy in my class added an intention for the baby’s father. He prayed for a man he has never met, commenting that he must be experiencing concern on the sidelines.

I found this statement compassionate and very insightful, especially for a 12-year-old. From that day on, our prayers have included not only the well-being of unborn children and their mothers, but also their fathers. This vocalized awareness made our class even more conscious of the role St. Joseph played in his support of Mary and the birth of Jesus. When we reached the Christmas season, it opened our hearts more fully to another perspective in the story.

Recently, at a Confirmation retreat, students and their sponsors examined the Gospel of Matthew 4:12-23 when Jesus called people to be “fishers of men.”

As we focussed on the words of Scripture, there were comments on the fact that Simon and Andrew, and James and John, left everything they knew to follow Jesus and seek God’s plans for them. After listening to these insights, the same student who prayed for our “adopted” baby’s father said he was struck by the fact that Zebadee, upon losing his sons, also also had to listen to God’s plan in letting them go. Zebedee’s livelihood, his family, and his heart were all  drastically affected by the actions of his children.

I thanked the student for his thoughts and for helping me to see another angle of the story. In reading this Gospel, I have always put myself in the shoes of the children, thinking of how difficult it is for us to leave our loved ones to follow God’s plan. I left my family in Ontario to seek a teaching profession here in B.C. That decision presented, and continues to present, a surrender to God’s plan for me, and the heartache of leaving family behind.

What about my family members, though? While I was experiencing a new adventure, they were left in a familiar place, forever changed. Although it was probably difficult, my family supported me as I sought my vocation. Zebedee undoubtedly experienced the same feelings of concern and sadness over the change in his life, but he followed God’s plan by supporting his sons as they joined Jesus’ mission.

I am at a stage now where my own children are beginning to find their individual paths in life. I have always encouraged them to follow God’s plans for them; however, it is not easy to let them go. Perhaps I never really stopped to reflect on the fact that my following God’s plan for my life means letting others do the same.

Sometimes following God involves action, and other times it means taking a step back. Standing on the sidelines, like St. Joseph did, can sometimes be part of God’s plan. Filling a home with children and then watching that home slowly empty is part of his plan for me, just as it was for Zebedee.

Inspired by the Abiding Together Podcast, I have chosen a word of the year for 2026: “Impartiality.” In Acts 10, we hear that “God shows no partiality.” As an admittedly opinionated person, it is very difficult at times for me to imitate God by seeing both sides of a situation without judgment. I am aware, however, that connection is rooted in compassion, and compassion is rooted in understanding. Moreover, true understanding results from putting oneself in another’s shoes, without judgment.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit enlighten and empower us to follow God’s plan for our lives with grace and perseverance. As I focus on my word of the year, I believe that this same grace will also help me to seek insight into life’s situations, and strive to see the perspectives of others. I pray for impartiality in my thinking and in my words and actions.

May my focus on impartiality enable me to successfully “fish for people” as I seek heaven, even when I am called to sit on the sidelines.