Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Going Home: Looking to the Past to Move Forward

Going Home: Looking to the Past to Move Forward

Last updated on: June 14, 2024 at 1:29 am by Verónica A. Gutiérrez

0 Comments

Going Home: Looking to the Past to Move Forward 2024-06-13T17:30:08-04:00 Verónica A. Gutiérrez

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I nosed my Camry slowly towards the Palos Verdes Peninsula on a bright afternoon this week, my three children squeezed into the back seat along with boxes and bags of our belongings. We had just popped in “Meet Kirsten,” an audiobook of historical fiction from the American Girls collection. The day before we had finished the last story in the Josefina collection, which detailed the life of a 9-year-old in 1824 New Mexico, and it had resonated powerfully with us because the Montoyas spoke Spanish and were Catholic. We wondered if we would connect as strongly with a Swedish girl who emigrated to Minnesota with her family in the 1850s.

As I navigated our heavily-laden car along the winding, hillside Peninsula roads overlooking the Pacific Ocean towards our new home, Kirsten and her family completed their journey across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Eagle, docking in New York City. We listened, rapt, as she traveled toward her Uncle Olav’s farm with her family by way of Chicago. Out of money, the Larsons left behind their two large trunks – which contained all their belongings for a family of five (just like us!) – and walked the last 20 miles. Had Kirsten not moved, the narrator informed us, she might have spent her entire life within a 20-mile radius of her home village in Sweden. But because she emigrated to the United States with her family, she experienced wonderful adventures not many children of her time would share – an ocean-crossing sea voyage, bustling New York City and Chicago, a stifling train ride, a sorrowful river paddleboat ride, and new landscapes.

My parents are more like Kristen than I am. Born in south Texas, when they married, they settled within a few miles of their hometowns. If a family land dispute had not prompted a move out of state, they might have remained in Texas all of their lives and I might have grown up in the small Texas town where I was born, possibly marrying and settling nearby.

Listening to Kirsten’s prolonged journey to her new home this week perfectly reflects our current reality: my husband and I have purchased our first family home.

***

Moving is exhausting. It’s not simply the very physical acts of packing, transporting items to your new home, and unpacking, but it’s also mentally exhausting – shall we keep this? Do we need this? What is this?

Moving is a historical process. It’s a time to review the archives of your life. The items I’ve been sifting through chronicle not only the 12 years in our apartment, but reach back to my years in graduate school, college, high school, and my youngest years.

Moving is a journey forward with a look backward. I was reminded of my early desire to be a published writer by an envelope stuffed with delightful illustrated stories I wrote in fifth grade. My daughter, who is almost the same age as I was at the time, insisted on pausing our packing long enough to read all of the stories aloud. The boys and I laughed at my mistakes and at my creativity.

Moving reminds us who we are. Growing up I wrote stories first about talking animals, and then about “normal American families,” that is, I made my characters white because I thought they had to be. Finding the thick, folded pages of notes I wrote while reading The Cypresses Believe in God in my Senior Seminar in college transported me back to my excitement about discovering that a family like mine could and did exist in literature – Catholic, Spanish-speaking, and with a mother who anchored the family. My stories changed after that, and eventually led me to specialize in Mexican Catholicism.

Moving is painful. Not simply the bodily aches of packing for hours on end for weeks at a time, but for the reminders of our past. Emails from my sister to a former boyfriend to discuss a contentious issue in our relationship. A book published by a former boyfriend who broke my heart. A letter I wrote to my mother when she was in the hospital in danger of dying from Covid. The little ceramic box from Puebla decorated with a brightly-painted Lady of Guadalupe containing the remains of my fourth baby lost in utero.

Kirsten knew, according to the narrator, that she would be a wife and mother like her own mother, just as her brothers, Lars and Peter, knew they would be farmers like their father. I did become an educator like my mother, but my journey was far more circuitous. I was reminded of this by finding seminar papers with comments from my Penn State graduate school professors, chapter drafts with suggestions from my UCLA dissertation advisor, a folder of notes about landing my first academic position, and orientation paperwork from my first academic position.

Moving is also a story of faith – was I called to the convent? Was I called to be single? Was I called to be a wife and mother? I laughed the day I packed up my little ceramic figure of St. Anthony of Padua wearing a historically-accurate colonial Mexican indigo robe (there was no brown dye in the Americas in the 16th century) that I bought in Puebla. Carrying the Christ child in his arms, below him was written: “San Toñito, haz el paro y mandame un novio,” which means: “Dear Saint Tony, stand on your head and send me a fiancé.” San Antonio was dutifully, and very cheerfully, standing on his head. Why? In Mexico, there’s a tradition of praying to St. Anthony for a spouse and then turning him on his head as punishment until he complies. Coincidence or not, I met my husband a few months after bringing this adorable santo home with me.

***

Glancing in the rear-view mirror as we rounded the final bend in the road to our new home, with Kirsten’s story captivating us, I thought about what lay ahead for my children. We might only be moving 13 miles south (45 minutes with traffic; this is LA after all!), but already my husband and I have seen the difference – the children’s laughter reverberates throughout the house as they play in the boys’ room, kick a soccer ball in the backyard, or chase each other on the city-owned grassy hill right outside. The air is fresher. The neighborhood is safer. We are happier.

So yes, the past few weeks have been exhausting (and we still have a few more carloads of boxes to bring over!), but it’s been a gift as well, particularly for me as a historian. We can’t really know where we’re going until we know where we’ve been. The historical evidence indicates that the Lord has given me a rich life. God has clearly guided me, guided all of us, to this moment.

Moving is an act of gratitude.

[N.B. I apologize for not having more images, but everything is packed. When I find my San Antonio figure, I’ll add a photo]

Verónica A. Gutiérrez

Previous Post

June 13, 2024

Constructing Social Problems: The Second Act?

Next Post

June 17, 2024 On Young Evangelicalism's Diverse Worship Leaders

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Very good point about MacDonald.I am certainly a Machen fan!"

philipjenkins

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"The Scottish author George MacDonald integrated fairy world into his fiction in a way that ..."

Terry

Fairies, Witches, Folk Horror, and the ..."

"I like the idea that we can have different streams. The coffee analogy is genius."

Lisa Clark Diller

How Do You Take Your Evangelicalism?

"Geography lesson: Southern California is actually in North Texas. I've lived her for 40 years, ..."

Terry

How Do You Take Your Evangelicalism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abolitionism Abortion Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Kuyper Abraham Lincoln Academia Activism Adam Renberg Advent Adventist africa African American Religion Agnes Howard Albert Camus American History American Religious History American Revolution American West Anabaptists Ancient History Andrea Turpin Andrei Tarkovsky Anglicanism Annales Ansley Lillian Quiros anti-Catholicism Antisemitism Anxious Bench apologetics Apparitions Arash Azizi Archaeology archives art Artificial Intelligence Asia Asian Americans Augustine Authors Bad Bunny Baptism Baptists Barack Obama Battle of Hastings Benjamin Franklin Bernard-Henri Levy Beth Allison Barr Beth Moore Bethany Mannon Bible Bill Cunningham Billy Graham Black Music Bob Dylan Body Boenhoffer Books Breastfeeding Bruce Springsteen C.S. Lewis Calvinism Cancel Culture Capitalism Carmelites Catholicism Cedric Robinson Cesar Chavez Charismaticism charity Charles Dickens Charles Lindbergh Che Guevara Chicago Children Chinese Christianity Chris Gehrz Christ Christian death Christian Higher Education Christian life Christian Nation Christian Nationalism Christianity Today Christmas Church life Church Practice cinema Civil Religion Civil Rights Movement Civil War civility Classics Climate Change Cold War Colonial Mexico colonialism Comer Communism community complementarianism Conference on Faith and History Congregationalism Conspiracies Conspiracy Conversion Narratives Coronavirus Costa Rica Council of Nicaea Covid-19 Creation Critical Race Theory Crusades Culture culture wars Daniel K. Williams David Barton David Swartz Death Ways death with dignity DEI democracy Democratic Party Devotion Digital Age Diplomacy discipleship diversity Donald Trump Drama Dua Lipa Early Church early modern Early modern Catholicism Easter Eastern Christianity economic exploitation Education elections Elie Wiesel Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor emotions Empire Engineering England enslavement Entertainment Episcopal Church Erica Ramirez eschatology Eurocentrism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Exegesis Family Feminism Film Flannery O'Connor folk music Food Foreign Policy founding fathers Franciscans Franciscus Junius fundamentalism Funerals G.K. Chesterton Gender Genocide genre geography George W. Bush George Washington George Whitefield Global Christianity Global church Grief Guadalupe guest post Guest Post gun control gun violence Gustavo Gutierrez Hamid Dabashi Harold John Ockenga Harvest Hate Hawaiian Christianity Healing health care Heather Cox Richardson Hell Heresy Hermeneutics Higher Education Hinduism Hippocratic oath Historical Fiction Historical Methodology Historical Profession Historical Profession Historical Theology Historical Thinking historiography Holidays Holocaust horror movies Human rights Humanitarian Work humanities Hummingbirds Hungary hymns Imago Dei Immigration Injustice Interviews Iran Islam Islamophobia Israel Ivan's Childhood Jacob Randolph James Bratt Janine Giordano Drake Japanese history Japanese Literature Jean Paul Sartre Jesse Miranda Jesus Jesus Christ Jimmy Carter Joan Baez Joan Didion Joanne Freeman João B. Chaves Joao Chaves Joey Cochran John Calvin John Fea John Tillotson John Turner Johnny Cash Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Tran Joseph Smith Josh Howerton Journalism Jr. Judaism Jürgen Moltmann Just War Justice Justin Brierley Karl Barth Katelyn Beaty koi ponds Kris Kristofferson Kristin Kobes Du Mez Latin American Religious History Latino Americans Lectio Divina Leisure Lent Leonard Cohen liberal arts liberalism Liberation Theology Linda Ronstadt Lisa Clark Diller Literature Lou Reed Lynchings Lynneth Miller Renberg Mainline Protestantism Malcolm Foley Marilyn Monroe Maritime history Mark Noll Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masih Alinejad mass shootings material culture medieval Christianity Medieval Ethiopia Melissa Borja memory Mennonites Mental Health Mental Illness Methodism Mexican Americans Mexicans Mike Madrid Miles Mullin Min Jin Lee Miscarriage Missionaries Mister Rogers Mitt Romney modernity Monasticism Mormonism Motherhood Mothers of the Church Moving Music Musicals Nadya Williams Nahua Christianity Native Americans Natsume Sōseki New Contributor New England New Year New York Nico Non-Violent Protest Orthodoxy pacifism Paleo Evangelicals Palestinians Parenting Patti Smith Paul Kingsnorth Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pentecostalism Philip Jenkins Phillis Wheatley physician-assisted suicide pilgrimage Pilgrims pluralism Plutocracy Poetry Politics Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV post-modernism prayer preaching Presbyterians prosperity gospel Protest Public history Publishing Puritans purity culture Quakers race Race Massacres Racial Capitalism racial reconciliation racialization Racism Raha Bahloulipour Re-Enchantment reading Reformation Refugees religion and the university religion and war Religious Freedom Religious Nones Religious Pluralism Religious Symbols religious violence Republican Party Revival Rita Coolidge Ritual Roger Williams Roman Catholic church Royalty Russell Moore same-sex marriage Sarah Irving-Stonebraker Scandinavia Science Science and Technology Scopes trial Scriptural Interpretation secularism Selena Quintanilla seminary Seventh-Day Adventists sexual morality Sexuality Sikhs Silence slaveholders theology Slavery Slavoj Zizek social justice Social Media Southern Baptist Convention Southern Religion Spain Spiritual Autobiography Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Discipline Sports Stanley Hauerwas Suffering Summer Camps Sunday Night Odds and Ends Supernatural Supreme Court Syriac Christianity Tal Howard Taylor Swift Teaching Technology Television Thanksgiving The Beatles The Mission theater TheoBros Theology Thomas Dixon Thomas Jefferson Thomas Kidd Thomas Merton Tim Gloege Tim Walz Tom Holland Tourism tradition Tragedy Translation Transnationalism Travel Trump Ukraine Uncategorized Unitarians United Methodist Church US History Vanessa Chan Velvet Underground Verónica A. Gutiérrez Veronica Gutierrez Vikings Violence Virgin Mary Virtue Virtue ethics Visions Voting War WCTU Wendell Berry Westminster Assembly White Evangelicalism Wildfires Winnie the Pooh Witches women Women in Ministry Women's and Gender Studies Work Worship writing Yasunari Kawabata Zena Hitz

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What kingdom did Isaiah prophesy would take Judah into exile?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Babylon Egypt Assyria Persia