What were your thoughts when the clock struck midnight and 2021 appeared?
“Will 2021 be a repeat of 2020?” “Should I even buy a calendar or planner? How can I plan?” “What’s ahead in 2021?”
One of the ways we look to a new year is to rewind and review the previous one. Perhaps it held experiences you want to hang onto or learn from, or prayerfully, not repeat. Hopefully, your year held moments of gratitude.
Many people set New Year’s resolutions and make goals. Some choose a Bible verse as a guide or a word to focus on and live out the next twelve months. Last year my word was “LIFE”. My perspective came from John 10:10 (NIV), “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.”
Was it ironic or a challenge, that much of life as we knew it stopped in March?
Was it strange that in 2020–a term we associate with clear vision–our clarity was dimmed, and we woke up each day with uncertainty?
John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans.” Life happened while many plans were interrupted, changed, or cancelled. My trip to meet my cousin and family for the first time in my life was cancelled due to COVID-19. Each day, my adult daughters and I held our breath wondering if we could take this trip of a lifetime to see their grandfather’s and maternal grandparents’ birthplace. The dream of meeting family, along with taking historic tours and a cooking class, evaporated a month before departure.
My grands moved to cyber learning and their musicals and sports events cancelled. Even my grandson’s low-key kindergarten graduation was held in a parking lot. Facebook photos showed drive-by birthdays. Church moved to online. “Zoom” became one of the most used words and practices in 2020.
I experienced directly or via my friends and family, deep personal losses. I lived and learned what it meant to “weep with those who weep”.
Life happened. How clearly did we see it? Was it blurry or out of focus?
Did you keep a journal last year? Rewinding and rereading is a good discipline. It shows us
- the good, and the not-so good
- responses and reactions
- thoughts and decisions
- prayers of thanks and lament
- what we did that was life-draining, life-giving, and life changing
- when we moved forward and how long we stayed in place.
But in all of these contrasts, God’s faithfulness prevailed. His faithfulness gives life.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Despite disappointments, isolation, no hugs from grandsons for weeks, and major adjustments, I lived in 2020 and saw:
- renewed value in what really matters:
- value in relationships, time, and personal growth
- appreciation for what money can’t buy
- uninterrupted study and devotional time because I had no place to go
- and making moments count.
- what I could live without
- reminders that God is sovereign
- God’s faithfulness and provision even in my aloneness
It was an odd way to realize my word, but I did. I had the fullness of life with a new perspective. I actually had, by seeing God’s faithfulness in life, 2020 vision.
So coming up, there was no doubt what my word for 2021 would be. I found it in early November. Another short but full-of-life word: HOPE.
I’m not looking at wishful thinking, chance, a dream, or expectation that it won’t rain at the beach. No I’m looking at life-giving hope—the kind that comes from confident expectation that God’s truth and faithfulness never fail and that He is bigger than circumstances. My cousin messaged me once air travel was halted:
“Dear Marilyn, I’m very sorry about this strange situation We have waited a long time, a few months will not stop us. I hope to meet you soon, a warm greeting to all of you.” Confident expectation: hope.
So my rewind led me to reset my mindset. I’m sure there will be a repeat of cancellations, changes, and disappointments. but I hope to live in hope and move toward hope by clinging to a verse in Romans.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)
That’s my prayer for you too.
Has what you learned in 2020 as you rewind, perhaps reread your journal, or review photos on your phone, moving you to a reset? Have you chosen a word, perspective, or a Bible verse as your guide? Share it with us and why you chose it.
My friend April White and I are preparing to launch our book Destination Hope: A Travel Companion When Life Falls Apart. We’ve established a Facebook group called Destination Hope, where we can mutually encourage each other, enjoy humor, and even have give aways from time to time. If you are interested in joining this private group, click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1837806079708594
Amen Ms. Marilyn. What happens TO us is not nearly as important as what happens IN us. God’s hope, achieved through our act of growing in our faith, is the fertilizer we need to spur our spiritual growth. Loved this lesson my friend; thank you for the reminder.
Thank you for sharing your insights–always adding to our conversations. Marilyn
Marilyn, your post reminds us to “rewind” and consider what we’ve learned instead of running
headlong into 2021. My values shifted somewhat in 2020, and I learned to be more content and to trust God more. Thank you for including Romans 15:13. Daily hope for 2021!
Jeannie, yes our hindsight can be 20/20 and show us lessons to carry forward. We–at least I-easily forget. That’s one of the reasons I re-read my journals–so I am reminded of where and how God met me in His faithfulness. Marilyn
What a wonderful post, Marilyn. I love your list of the positives that came out of living through 2020. I think all of us will be forever changed by this highly eventful year. The year moved me to reset my idea of gratitude. I already practice it, but this year I will find gratitude for all the ordinary, everyday moments of life, so many which were snatched from us in 2020.
Love hearing about one of your outcomes of 2020. My nightly practice for years now has been rewinding my day when my head hits the pillow and thanking God for five things about my day. They are usually non-material–like my blooming azaleas or holding my grandson’s hand as we walk. I fall asleep–“sweet sleep” as Scripture says immediately. Marilyn
Hope is our lifeline and despite what situations do to our schedules and plans, God never fails. After all He tells us that faith is the substance of things HOPED for. My word for this year is study, but God had me focusing on hope a few weeks ago when I put a new tagline on my blog. “Walking in grace, thriving in hope.” Because we always have hope. Looking forward to your new Facebook group!
Love the new tag line, Barbara–we cannot LIVE without grace and hope. Yes-hopeful we will all thrive this year and live in His hope. Marilyn
Hi Marilyn, amazingly I too was supposed to meet cousins (several of them) for the first time but was postponed. It is family that I discovered living in my new home state through AncestryDNA on my paternal side. I was so excited to meet them so not being able to was quite disappointing. As for a word of the year, I have never heard of the practice of choosing one, though I have attended churches that have. However, a word did come to mind for 2020 spontaneously and that is vision. I immediately thought that it would be the year that we would all see things more clearly, and we do. We see what matters now: we see God is in control, not any of us; and we see how much we need God. As for 2021, and any new year, I definitely look back and reflect. And reset is the word of the month for my blog because that is what we all need to do. Happy New Year!
Welcome Robyn. Thank you for stopping by and joining the conversation. You can learn more about choosing a word by going to Dayspring.com. Marilyn
The confident expectation- YES. I didn’t choose a word for 2020, but I did have a reset and it was an amazing transformation period. Even in the midst of such difficulty, God brought so much good out of it! Great post.
Excellent word. I love how the word we find, becomes just what we need. Mine for 2020 was GATHER, go figure. But I too discovered wonderful fruit. This year mine is also HOPE and how desperately we need it now.
Marilyn, Rom. 15:13 is one of my favorite verses. It reminds me that as I trust in Him I will be filled with hope. Yes, I need to reset my mind daily, not just yearly!
You have summarized the pain and heartbreak of 2020 while giving us hope for the future. Thank you for helping me see that there is hope, even in the midst of loss.
I love your definition of hope. I’ve always thought of it as expectation of great good. But your definition puts the focus on God’s faithfulness and truth. Thank you for these thoughts!
Thanks Katy. Yes it’s a mindset that doesn’t set us up for disappointment. Marilyn