What I learned in 2020
Well, what a year it has been. The year that everything shut down and all normalcy was gone. A year full of turmoil, stress, unrest, riots, a pandemic, loss, and loneliness. This year, although hard, was also full of learning and growth - full of blessings and beauty in the midst of all the chaos.
For the last 6 years, I’ve asked God to show me a word that will represent my year or be a theme/lens at which I operate within the coming year. For 2020, my word was “still.” It’s funny now because when this word was revealed to me, I wasn't thrilled. If you know me, I don't like being still - I like to perform. I prefer to be “on the go,” and I love winning. So, being still was not what I was interested in doing.
I chose this word back in January, and about the same time, I began reading the book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. This book has some challenging ideas. I liked a lot of what it was saying, but it was contradictory to how I was currently living. I was in “go mode" all of the time. I often felt like a chicken running around with my head cut off, and then the pandemic hit, and everything became VERY still.
In mid-March we stopped having in-person church, but my role as a LifeGroups/LifeMissions Pastor did not stop. If anything, I became busier within my role. I did my best to figure out how I could lead my teams virtually. As a church staff team, we adapted to meet the needs that popped up within the community. I worked from home for a couple months this year, and stopped meeting for in-person lunches and coffee with my teams and leaders, and we cut way back on seeing friends and family. My word "still" started making more sense. God wanted me to learn to be still.
Halfway through the year, things started to open back up, and life began to go back to normal-ish for a few months. But that quickly came to a halt when Covid cases started to rise again. Mask mandates were issued for our city, racial unrest spread like wildfire across our country, and political division made its way into most cities and states. Every time we turned on the news, it was like the entire world was falling apart. I noticed I was feeling more anxious and stressed than normal, and I was afraid of getting sick and passing the sickness on to others. It seemed like every other week I was either exposed, afraid I was not feeling well, or 1 person removed from the sickness. I think many of us felt that way this year.
Now, with the word I choose each year, I also choose a Bible verse to support that word. The Bible verse I chose is from Psalm 46:10.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The first part of the year was learning how to be still. I think the later part of the year was understanding that He is God, and He has everything under control, and He will be exalted no matter what. I may not understand it, but He's got it. This year has been all about being still and knowing that He is God. (You can hear me explain this more in a devotional here).
This year:
Kara started cutting my hair, and I love it. I can get a haircut every two weeks instead of every three to four because its more convenient and cheaper. Plus, she does a pretty good job - at least I think she does. ;)
We took a lot of walks this year. We’ve always enjoyed walks together, but this year we took a lot more. We love strolling through our neighborhood and the hoods across the street.
We’ve cooked a lot of meals at home, and we've also enjoyed some take-out meals this year - we’ve become pros at eating in our car in the restaurant parking lot. We've loved just building upon the relationship and friendship that we already have. Dang, I'm a sucker for her. She’s my best friend.
Kara's business flourished this year. She has a nutrition counseling virtual private practice where she helps people heal their relationship with food and their body. Being completely virtual, it’s like she was set up for a year like this. She’s now contracted with 4 different insurance companies so most of her clients can use their insurance benefits to cover their sessions. In previous years, the idea of running a private practice virtually was hard for some people to understand, but she was set up for success when this year came around. (Kara's business)
I've really enjoyed the time with my wife and our time at home. We've had many great conversations this year, and we’ve dreamed about what is to come. At the beginning of the year, I told Kara that I felt like I was racing around 90 to nothing and not home too much. Well, this year was full of me getting to slow down and enjoy being home more.
Even though the church may have shut down for a couple months, I’ve been able to witness the incredible generosity continue, both from the church and from the people of our church. As an organization, we’ve been able to give away a lot of money this year. I’ve seen LifeGroups get creative and continue to find ways to connect and experience community. I've seen local organizations we partner with pivot and adapt to the changes they need to make to continue to support the people they serve. It's been incredible to watch.
Last by not least, this is the year that Kara and I found out she was pregnant. I GET TO BE A DAD. I will never forget this, as this is probably one of the most humbling things I've ever gotten to experience, and shoot, the kid ain't even here yet.
This new year is going to be a great, but 2020 was sweet too. In the midst of the problems and pain, there were many things learned and many things we experienced because of this past year that we wouldn't have experienced otherwise. I don't want to minimize the pain someone may be feeling from a death, sickness, or job loss, but when there is pain, there is growth, and there is a lot that we can learn from all of it. It's all about our perspective. That's how I'm walking out of 2020. I'm walking out a little more tender to all that we went through, but I'm also walking out stronger and wiser.
I'd love to hear your thoughts or perspectives from 2020. Feel free to leave me a comment or email me.
