What I Learned in 2020
No doubt 2020 has taught us all lessons. We’ve learned practical things like:
Tips on looking our best on Zoom calls and the best angle to avoid other people in our homes
Proper hygiene practices like washing our hands (in case we didn’t know)
How to read a map for both pandemic spread and election results
Learning how many days in a row we can go wearing pair of leggings
Perfecting homemade sourdough bread
And the list could go on. But we’ve also learned some more serious things this year. We’ve learned how to live in polarizing times, navigating difficult conversations around government mandates and racial injustices while trying to maintain friendships. We’ve learned what quality family time, a mere wish before, practically looks like, simply because we have experienced so much of it this year. We’ve learned to be with our own selves, to look in the mirror, and evaluate who we will be once we all can emerge from our sheltered homes.
What Have I Learned?
How to grieve. March 14th, a short one week before the Illinois massive shut down, my father passed away from a two-year battle with cancer. This began only what I can describe as a year of grief. Managing grief despite a pandemic with the loss of my father and then my mother-in-law later this year has been a weighty load to carry. I’ve learned to say goodbye to family and friends that felt like family as we endeavored thirty-two hours west to follow God’s leading to a small town outside of Portland, OR. I’ve learned how to leave something unfinished when we could not have a proper service for my dad before my move.
How to practice mental health. God typically gives me one word each year. It’s not a word I necessarily have much to do with. He just says, “Lisa, this is how I am going to show up this year.” For 2020, he provided me two words: bandwidth & boundaries. Little did I know all that was ahead. But God did.
He spoke to me about where my mind should be dwelling if not on my anxieties throughout this year. He taught me what Sabbath rest means. I’ve learned what it looks like to be mindful and intentional in my actions so that, just when it feels I can’t go on, somehow I find that I can. Learning these lessons, among many, are the seeds I carry with me into 2021 in hopes of flourishing.
How to tell my story through the lens of scripture. I have been a Christian for nearly all my life, and I have just in 2020 finished reading the Bible through to completion. I was a little embarrassed to share this tidbit throughout the previous couple of years, thinking this needed to be some requirement, allowing me to “level up” in the Christian life. What I discovered upon its completion was more beautiful than I had imagined. I learned about how God’s heart is to redeem and restore what is lost or broken. I have learned how to really follow through in being a Christ-follower. I have learned that God often shows up in the midst of the ordinary. And I have learned that I don’t need to be someone extraordinary to follow God’s call in obedience.
Most of all…I’ve learned what it means to show up when it’s hard, not for the sake of my own name or agenda. No, I’ve learned to step out from my own wallow of blankets and binges, even in the darkest of moments, to show up. To show up for you. To show up for friends and family. To show up in response to God’s call each day.
As we make our way tiptoeing into 2021, I would encourage you as God has encouraged me. I would encourage us both to hope that God will continue to meet us each day as we take it one day at a time. Happy New Year Friend. Let’s move forward together in hope.
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