Dear 2020 and 2021:

This started out as a simple Facebook post – a New Year declaration to say goodbye and good riddance to you, 2020, and to look down the path to you, 2021, with open arms and hopeful expectation.   But in typical fashion, it’s never that simple for me, especially this year.   

And so, what better time than the turn toward 2021 to create the blog that I have been talking about for years – Seeing in a Mirror Dimly.  There is so much unknown to us as we try to make sense of this life.   All we can do is have faith, live in love, and know that all mysteries will be revealed when we are face to face with God.  (1 Corinthians 13:12)  You, 2020, are one of those mysteries.  We have all been struggling for ten long months and with another ten on the horizon.     

2020, you have been downright horrible for so many people. My family and I have been some of the fortunate ones, and the inequality of that pains me.  My sufferings have only included inconveniences and disappointments:  the loneliness of missing friends, not being able to travel, the anxiety and worry about getting sick and passing it on to my health-compromised parents and in-laws, not being able to fully hug them, not being able to worship face-to-face with my church family, not being able to sing in choirs, not being able to attend live performances, worrying about and adapting holiday celebrations,  etc., etc., etc.  For too many others, that list also includes much greater hardships and tragedies:  sickness, the struggle of working from home with young kids also in online school, the stress of being a front-line medical worker, lost jobs, hunger, financial stress, and of course, death.   Your sufferings have been in my heart and prayers all year. 

And then add in hateful political discourse, racial injustice, and incomprehensible arguments over mask wearing and we can conclude that you, 2020, were a very sucky year.   

I typically love the turn of a new year.  January is one of my favorite months – a chance to recreate, renew, and redeem.   Never have I yearned for a new year as much as I do you, 2021.   But to move forward, I must acknowledge what you, 2020, gave that I will be carrying into the new year.  I fear that articulating this will trivialize the pain and suffering that too many have experienced and are still experiencing.  I do not want to do that.   For me, even with the disappointments and sacrifices, not all the change has been bad.  2020, you have also been a year of learning, discovery, and growth.   We have been in exile.  And as God told the Israelites, God is also telling us, “ See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

2021, I am convinced that, as we stand on your precipice, we are a changed people.  And there are some things that I hope never return to their old ways.  There are discoveries that I hope and pray can turn this wasteland of 2020 into streams of joy, laughter, peace, and love in 2021. 

• We have learned how to slow down and stop frenetically moving from one event to the next – how to be together with our family in simple and refreshing ways.  

• We have learned how to adapt through trying circumstances.  We are resilient people!

• I have learned how to focus on the silence, pay attention to God moving in the world and how to be guided by “the voice calling in the wilderness.” 

• I have learned to never rely on “someday.”  Today is always the best day to connect with someone and make something happen. 

• We have learned how to enjoy being outside more.  I am walking more. Our family has discovered so many natural wonderlands just 10 minutes from our home.  And who knew you could get such joy from eating outside by a fire in winter?

• We have learned that worshiping God and being a church is not confined to four walls.  Not even a pandemic can stop us from working together for God’s kingdom here on earth!

• And as the reality of inequality in our society has become so evident, so has our capacity for love and compassion.   Even though the news focuses on discourse and death, we as a community have stood together with each other, donated, fought for what is just, and reached out in radical ways.  I pray that we are waking up to the true meaning of these words, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”.

2021, I pray for you and for all of us who will live through you – myself, my friends and family, my community, all those who live on the margins, and the world.   I pray that you can bring us peace and joy and that we share it abundantly.  I pray that we can live communally, with intention to be with and help each other.  And I pray that we can all live with the radical, hospitable love of Jesus as we journey through this new year together.