Forever Beloved

In less than two weeks we’ll have what we’ve all anticipated for such a long time: a new year.

There has always been a big part of me that thrills over the fresh beginning of a new year laid out in front of us.  It’s like a fresh blanket of white snow free of footsteps.  It feels like a book with blank pages, just waiting for you to write your own story.

But this year, well, walking into this new year just feels so different.

I think we can all agree we would like to honestly forget that 2020 ever happened.  It was hard, devastating and heart wrenching sadness perpetually hid around every corner.  It was fast and unexpected and aggressive.

It was so easy to get caught up in the worry, panic and anxiety that the year threw at us.  Hand washing, hand sanitizer, gloves and masks were seemingly screamed from every rooftop.  Shut downs, lock downs, job losses and the loss of dear people we loved so incredibly much.  And the unrest we all felt as a whole, at times, was taken out on each other.

We’re wrestled with anxiety, depression, loneliness, civil unrest, political nightmares and death.

Our lives are forever changed by 2020.

Unfortunately, the hard we’ve been through will not magically disappear when we turn the calendar to 2021.

But through all the hard our God was still faithful.  And He will still be faithful in 2021!

Throughout this entire past year I’ve felt a gentle nudge at my heart.  I’ve heard that still, small voice speaking to me.

Focus on me, I’m still good even when life isn’t.

By shifting my focus from the fear in the world to God’s goodness, it allowed me a sense of freedom.

Freedom to enjoy having my husband and daughter home with me for over two months, we’ll never again get that amount of dedicated time together.  To feel blessed to watch church service online, even though I terribly miss the in-person fellowship.  To be thankful I have a warm house to stay inside, even though it’s lonely to only leave my house once a month.  To know my dear family members that passed from this horrible virus are rejoicing in Heaven, and I’ll get to see them again someday.

God loves all of us extravagantly.  And He’s not finished with a single one of us.  The fact is, He has a sovereign plan that is for good and not evil.  For joy and not sorrow.  He is writing a story of on-going redemption with each of our lives even in the midst of a pandemic.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 sums up the segment in a few simple, powerful words: He has made everything beautiful in His time.

HIS TIME.

Everyone’s degree of suffering in the past year was different.  But one thing is certain: it has a purpose and we have hope.

Having this outlook on suffering doesn’t lessen it’s pain, but it does inspire hope.

Do you remember in John 11 when Mary and Martha were heartbroken that their brother Lazarus had died?  They were not only sad for the loss of their brother, but also that Jesus had taken so long to get there and allowed death to find them.  Then, Jesus wept.

Jesus wept because suffering is real and it’s hard and it hurts.

And what happened next?

Jesus spoke the words that brought life where there was only death, hope where there was hopelessness and joy where there was heartbreak.

Joy comes in knowing Jesus, experiencing His presence and trusting His timing.  Joy comes when we fall more in love with the One who loves us most.  To experience joy is to experience Jesus!

And though 2020 was incredibly hard, it was a season we all had to walk through.

Can I encourage you, sweet friends, with this last thought.  In a few days we will celebrate the arrival of Jesus.  As we rejoice that our Savior was born, let’s make the choice not to dismiss this hard past year but to let it remind us of God’s unfailing love for us.  Let’s shift our focus on 2020 and look for God’s marvelous works in it.  Let’s spend some time being honest with our Father about how hard this year has been and at the same time praising Him for all He has done.

Our God is, always has been and always will be, Good.  Merry Christmas friends.