The beginning of a new year always holds a sense of wonder and excitement for me. 365 days lie ahead - fewer now, by the time I'm writing this - with only a vague sense of what each one of them might hold.
After the rollercoaster that was 2020, I'm sure we can all agree that the already vague sense of what each new year will hold is feeling far more vague than usual this time around. At least that's what I'm thinking.
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| Milton, ON; May 2, 2020 |
At the same time, I find that my excitement and wonder toward 2021 is still going strong, in spite of the province's current lockdown, and the fact that I've spent this first week of the new year at my house, only ever leaving to go to work and then come right back home afterward, unless I need to stop for gas or groceries.
But the thing is, I don't think that the problem with 2021 is the virus' continued existence, the global immensity of the pandemic, the provincial lockdown, or even just that 2021 is unfortunately emerging on the coattails of the year that was 2020.
I would say that the problem with 2021 lies in one's mindset.
See, at the end of 2016 (okay first of all - WOAH, how even was that just over four years ago and also who even knew my blog has existed for that long?!?! Okay, I knew but still. WOAH.), I put out a whole rant post about people who had tweeted/instagrammed/posted that 2016 had been "the worst year in recorded history".
In that post, my twenty year-old self said this:
"When I take a moment to look back on the past 365 days, yes I recognize that this world, as well as my own life, has seen some hard times. However, first and foremost I see God's goodness and mercy present in every situation. Okay, I'm a finite human, so I didn't actually recognize His presence in everything, but in hindsight, I know He was there. God was gracious to me far more times than I deserve."
Again, it's all about mindset. I continued in my rant to ask if people could really look back on the previous year and say that nothing good happened? I don't know about you, but when I look back on 2020, I can't truthfully say that.
I started a second job.
I got my full driver's license.
I made new friends.
I started teaching piano lessons.
And those are only the things that instantly came to mind!
I'm currently reading a book that talks about learning how to control and direct our thought patterns in order to "stop the spiral of toxic thoughts", as the sub-heading of the book puts it (post on this book coming later). Based on how things went in 2020, it's natural for anyone to be skeptical of what will happen this year, especially in terms of the pandemic, which doesn't look as though there's an end to it in the near future.
It's in times like these that I'm incredibly thankful for the knowledge that God is in control, and that He is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). With this in mind, I hold onto hope that perhaps 2021 will see an end to the pandemic, despite how grim the circumstances look in the present moment.
Maybe I sound crazy to you saying that, considering the case numbers have been going in an upward direction since the start of 2021. But the way I see it is that there's so much time left in this year that it's intriguing and exciting to see what each day is going to hold and what will happen in the world.
2020 was hard, I'll give you that. I won't try to say that it was easy and wonderful and amazing, even though there were good parts to it. There's room to recognize difficulties and accept them. But what's of even more importance is remembering this truth, this reminder that I read in my devotional this morning:
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." (Psalm 46:1-3)
He is in control. Whether there is a global pandemic occurring or not. He is in control. Of everything. There's no need to try and conquer the world and figure everything out. That's not our responsibility. We can take refuge in God and find our strength in Him each day.
Whether 2021 looks similar to 2020 or not. God is in control over it all.
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