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Advent with the Psalms – Mónika Estrada Guzmán

December 22nd, 2018 by Monika Guzman-Estrada

Psalm 80:14,17

Once again, O LORD of hosts,

look down from heaven, and see;

take care of this vine,

and protect what your right hand has planted,

the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

I will be in California with my mom today. Celebrating the thirty-second anniversary of our pilgrimage to the United States. I can’t imagine the strength it took for my mom to make such a momentous decision to leave behind her family, her language, her culture and her identity!  She trusted in God’s purpose for our future. Our adaptation to the United States was tough for us both! My mom went from managing a team of eight at an export and import firm, to being on her knees cleaning the hardwood floors to support us.  I felt like an outsider for not being fluent in English and because of the color of my skin. Our immigration journey was not an easy one. It took over twenty years for my mom to become a legal resident and me twenty-seven years. I had to put on hold my dream of going to grad school. As our psalm today says, God has protected us both.  God placed people in our lives to remind us we were not alone. God is always with us, taking care of God’s vines.

~ Mónika Estrada Guzmán

Monika Guzman-Estrada

Monika Estrada Guzman is the Program Director of El Nido, Christ Church's faith-based outreach program in Washington Heights, NYC.