Those closest to me have grown accustom to me saying “Well 2020 just keeps on giving”, every time we hear something bad happens. I originally started saying it in my sarcastic tone to try to bring a little humor to a very horrible time. Now I say it in disgust. I’m pretty sure we can all agree this past year has been relentless. Twenty-Twenty seemed to have worked overtime to create division, fear, anxiety, pain leaving  us feeling alone, sad, angry, hurt and hopeless.  I’m tired of it and ready to get off this crazy train we’ve all been riding for the year. But just when the train is about to pull into the station so we can make our exit, for me personally, 2020 reared its ugly head one last time as if to say I’m not going out without a fight. And I’m back to well 2020 just keeps on giving. It’s like the jelly of the month club gift certificate Clark receives in Christmas Vacation, nobody wants that! The reality is as much as I want to move past 2020, I’m afraid we haven’t even begun to see all the effects of this past year. Wow, aren’t you glad you started to read this blog, so uplifting huh? But this is where I am at today, the morning of 12/31, wondering if 2021 is really going to be any different from what we have experienced this past year. I keep hearing people say, I’ll be so glad for this year to end, bring on 2021 and no one claim it as your year and mess it up. Again, why do we think as we move from 11:59pm on 12/31/20 to midnight on 1/1/21 things will magically be better?

I know in years past we anticipated a new year and what it promised to bring. We celebrated the “out with the old and in with the new.” We gathered with friends and family to ring in the new year. We made New Year’s Resolution with the motivation to try to make good on them. The New Year meant a chance to start over, new beginnings and a clean slate. But honestly, this year, I don’t think anything is going to change other than the date and time. We will still be faced with the current challenges of 2020 with some new ones to boot. We will start to experience more fallout of the toll 2020 has taken on us, especially our kids. I think we are just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of how much damage has been done to all of us this year.  Yes, in a few hours we will say goodbye to the year 2020, as far as a date, but I’m just not sure it will truly be gone.

So, what do we do? How do we recover from 2020? How do we deal with the residual fear, anxiety, sadness, hurt, disappointment and loneliness? How do we have hope in the year 2021?

 We fix our hearts on Jesus. The Giver of Life. The WayMaker. Healer of the Broken Hearted. Wonderful Counselor. Almighty King. Redeemer. Prince of Peace. The One True Savior. The OverComer of the world. The Everlasting Father. The Greatest Empathizer. Our Comforter. The Alpha & Omega. Immanuel, God with us. The Good Shepherd. Our Helper in times of trouble. Our only true Hope! Jesus is the answer for the year 2020 and all previous years. He is the reason we can embrace the year 2021 with excitement.  With Jesus we can face it all, 2020’s leftover gifts and the unknown of 2021. We can enter 2021 knowing that He will bring beauty from the ashes. He will bring purpose to our pain. He will heal the broken hearted. He will redeem our messes, our mistakes and use them for good. He alone offers us a new start; we don’t need a new year for that. He alone wipes our slate clean. He gives us the gift of out with the old, meet the new me. For those who believe in Him, we can rest in these promises of God and that He will work all things for good. So no matter what 2021 brings, the good, the bad and the ugly, we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.

So, instead of New Year’s resolutions how about a New Year’s challenge? Here’s my challenge for you and me as we enter 2021: May we Be Still and Know that He is Lord, surrendering all our worry, fear and anxiety to Him. May we trust Him, remembering that He is Sovereign, and everything is under His rule. May we draw near to Him and grow deeper in our relationship with Him. May we dive into His Word, hide it in our hearts and live it out in our lives. May we always run to The Father. May we be a light for Him. May Jesus be the center of our lives and everything we do. 

So, as we usher in 2021 and all it brings, we can meet it with great anticipation and excitement because we know we have hope. Hope has a name, and His name is Jesus. 

Inspirational Video: Run to The Father