What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah 6:8 is A well-known and beloved scripture by many, me included. In 2011 when my husband, Nata, and I were married, it was the scripture we asked our officiants to focus their message on.

Ever since, Micah 6:8 has retained significance for us, individually and as a family. In times where we have felt adrift because of shifts in church, faith or life in general, the prophet’s words reminds us in simple language where to concentrate.

Certainly, this year we’ve experienced this in countless ways.

As we enter the Advent season, Micah 6:8 has been on my mind yet again. Partly, I think it’s because the journey of Advent to Christmas and the new calendar year always feels like an opportunity to imagine and reset for what is to come. Of course, one of the lessons of 2020 has been that sometimes what will come is beyond our imagination.

For many of us, though, remaining anchored in our faith has helped navigate the unexpected. What we know as followers of Christ is that our work of justice, kindness and humility never ends. Everything around us can change, and still this work is required of us.

You’ve heard me say it before: In this first year of Anabaptist World our team is navigating a lot of change. In the midst of it all we are doing our best to stay anchored in our mission and core values and to live into new ways of reporting and sharing stories from our communities.

One of my hopes for our work is that Anabaptist World may be a tool of orientation to justice, kindness and humility.

Beyond my own fondness of Micah 6:8, I believe it points us towards faithfully following Christ.

If you’ve already witnessed this throughout our first few issues and want to share it with your family or friends, we are offering half off yearly gift subscriptions from now until Christmas. Simply visit our website at AnabaptistWorld.org/GiveAW2020 or call us at 316-283-3670 to order a subscription.

Since our next issue will come out in four weeks (rather than the usual three), you could even add the subscription in time for them to receive this year’s Christmas issue, which will be mailed Dec. 18.

My hope for anyone you share Ana­baptist World with is that they will see a glimpse of the faithfulness of our Anabaptist communities. It might be surprising at times, but I’m convinced that is one of God’s preferred ways to work. God chose Mary, a not-yet-married young woman, to carry a tiny baby Christ into the world in Bethlehem, an unassuming small town.

Herod and all his advisers couldn’t see that coming. It was the observant magi and watchful shepherds that God alerted to this new joy to the world. May we also be attentive to the surprising ways God is working in and among us.