I usually love getting ready for the new year – putting up the next year’s calendar and family planner, This year however I am not filled with the same enthusiasm. Looking back at 2020 is a bit different than any New Year’s eve. Reason for that is most likely because when the clock turns over from 2020 to 2021 not a lot will change. We are still globally in the middle of a pandemic.
As I am writing this I have very disappointed teenage kids who is trying to figure out how to celebrate bringing in the New Year with their friends, because restrictions have changed and now we can only have 5 guest over. The year 2020 has certainly delivered a big portion of disappointment on a lot of different levels.
Most of us started the year 2020 with a sense of eagerness and looking forward to the year of all years. The big one. Well, it certainly was a big one. Not in the usual sense though. It was however a year that taught all of us a few lessons.
The year 2020 taught me to live day by day. To appreciate every new day as a blessing from God.
The year 2020 taught me to take responsibility in taking care of my own health.
The year 2020 taught me to be adaptable and to roll with the punches.
The year 2020 made me appreciate people and the work that they do, no matter what. From the scientists working really hard to formulate a vaccine to the cashier at the grocery store.
The year 2020 has taught me that we all process things very differently. This has been such an emotional roller coaster ride for all of us and this year has brought on a lot of grief for many. This has also been the year when we saw anger and frustration demonstrated in violence like never before. A lot of behaviors came from a place of fear and anxiety.
Understanding the emotion can help us to understand where someone is coming from. The different stages of change are experienced in different ways and seasons by different people.
This year will certainly go down in the history books of tomorrow. Let’s learn from history and from the past. This has been a humbling year. Reflecting back on 2020 helped me to gain some insight. This was the year that taught me to be grateful for the things I have, the people I have in my life. To live life as if this would be my last day. We are not assured of a tomorrow, we don’t know what is around the corner of life. God alone knows.
Be kind to you, be kind to others. Love God, love people – that is the most important commandment in the Bible. May 2021 be a year that we approach with wisdom and maturity.
Take care of you so that you can take care of those you love.
Elize