2021

Alternately titled: A Month in Review: October, November, and December 2020

My view as I write today. I’m definitely not mad about it.

2021. The turn of the page we have all been longing for for approximately 270 days. I ran across the song “F2020” again the other night and have been playing it on repeat because it makes me laugh so hard. And it came out in June. So many more reasons to “F2020” have occurred since then. lol

This morning I sat down with my cup of coffee in my living room and opened up my well-worn copy of Streams in the Desert. This book has been as faithful a friend to me as my actual Bible for at least thirteen years, maybe longer. It is worn and tattered and I have a backup copy of the same edition on my shelf for when this one finally falls apart. As I slipped it open to January 1, I read, “Today we stand at the threshold of the unknown. Before us lies a new year, and we are going forward to take possession of it. Who knows what we will find? What new experiences or changes will come our way? What new needs will arise? In spite of the uncertainty before us, we have a cheerful and comforting message from our heavenly Father: ‘The Lord your God cares for [it}; the eyes of the Lord…are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end’.” As I read these words, I couldn’t help but think back to a year ago, knowing I would have read these exact same words on this same morning looking ahead to 2020. None of us twelve months ago would have even fathomed a guess at what the coming twelve months would hold, pandemic or no. But God knew. And He still knows. As we look ahead to 2021 with cautious hope, let us remember that He is not surprised by what lies ahead and that He can use it all, if we let Him.

 Last night Matt and I went out to dinner for New Year’s Eve. We got dressed up fancy and I curled my hair, and we took zero pictures, so you’ll have to take my word for it. But I had emailed some questions to him that I stole from one of my favorite podcasts to give us some conversation starters. (After the year that 2020 has been, date night conversation can be hard sometimes and if we aren’t careful and intentional, it can quickly turn toxic and an otherwise fun evening can go very, very badly. This isn’t how we normally function – date night is normally a highlight and a balm, but there are hard seasons, right married people???) And because we all know 2020 has been a difficult hot mess dumpster fire of a year, the one rule I sent with the questions was that the answers needed to try to focus on the positive. For some questions that was easy. For others, you could tell we were both working at it. But in the vein, and because it’s been a hot minute since I did a Month in Review, let’s do a quarter in review and focus on the good stuff. (Questions selected from the 10 Things to Tell You podcast, episode 95.)

What was the most consequential decision?

Hands down, buying this house. So many things are different because of the move. Most of them are good, some are hard, but that’s life right? But it’s starting to feel more and more like home and we are excited to finish the kitchen in the next several weeks and hopefully settle in and just enjoy it for a while.

What was the best entertainment?

 Schitt’s Creek. That show has carried me through the past six months in ways I never would have expected.

What was the biggest surprise?

Emma coming home for Christmas. That may be the most surprised I’ve ever been in my life, followed only by the day I found out I was pregnant with one of our children because, statistically, that should not have happened.

What do you want more of next year?

 Cooking indoors, rather than in my garage. More music. More laughter. More connection. More travel.

As we look ahead, some do resolutions, some set goals, some thumb their nose at all of it. For about ten years now, I have tried to choose a word that helps me set a focus for the year. I often forget the word by late April, or the word needs to change by mid-year, but it’s been a valuable practice to help me focus. My word for this year is rebuild. So much in my life feels like it needs to be rebuilt after this year – relationships, work and ministry life, life-giving hobbies, my kitchen. So that is my gentle reminder to remember what I’m after in 2021 – a rebuilding of what matters most. What are you after in the new year?

Thanks for following along with us this year. It’s been a weird and wild year and it’s been fun to share it with all of you. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us next!