For we live by faith, not by sight. -2 Corinthians 5:7, NIV
This is cliché by now, but 2020 has been a year like no other year. None of us have ever seen anything like the year we just had. Nothing in our human selves prepared us for this year. We went from celebrating the year of 2020 vision to watching the number of deaths rise from Covid-19 and senseless violence, to watching the number of jobs fall, to watching finances dry up, to watching food lines grow, and to watching life change into something unimaginable. We’ve all probably have said things like: “I could have never imagined this…” “If someone had told me this…” “What is going on?” “Where is God?”
God is exactly where we left God – on our side and in our hearts.
Yes, this year our faith has been tested, but God is still on our side. We were stretched and we wondered if our faith is elastic or plastic. We wondered if it would bounce back like rubber or break like cheap plastic. We wondered and we waited through every update from family or news report from the media. We waited and we wondered if things would ever turn around.
While the turn has been extremely slow, the truth is, we are still here, and God is still here with us. Through loss, pain, and change, God has been here with us and will always be exactly where we need God to be. The only thing that is certain for 2021 is that God will never leave nor forsake us. The one resolution we need for 2021 is that we will not lose our faith in God. No matter what, we must have faith in God.
In 2020 we also elected a new president and our first black female vice president. It was also a year when some people woke up from their sleep regarding racial justice. It was also a year when we were our most creative. We rose to individual and collective challenges and figured out how to function in our new normal. Parents got to spend more time with their children. Spouses who were once passing ships in the night docked together. Grandparents learned to Zoom. Friends learned to make every connection virtual. Couples learned that weddings are priceless no matter how many guests are in the room with you. Churches realized that church is not about a building but the people.
On the lighter side, Hollywood kept us entertained with all sorts of adaptations. We learned to dance like no one is watching and to sing worship songs to God no matter how we sound. We learned that high heels really do make our backs hurt and that sweatpants can be work attire. We learned that we don’t need all the stuff we like to buy in bulk or that buying tissue in bulk has its advantages. We learned that masks keep allergens at bay and keep cold noses warm. We learned the importance of slowing down, listening to what is important, and filtering out the nonsense. We learned to breathe, laugh, and love.
Readers, I pray that you bring in the new year with all the love you can stand to receive and give. May God richly bless you and everyone connected to you both near and far. May you experience a dose of God’s love beyond anything you can ever imagine or think. May you never forget to have faith in God.
See you in 2021!