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We’ve turned the calendar page on 2020. And like so many others, I bid it farewell with a good riddance. 2020 was HARD! It was like sandpaper on our souls. But before I lay 2020 to rest, I want to say thank you for the things you’ve given me. With gratitude, I’ve learned in new ways that…

We are all connected. All over the world, in every corner, our destinies and health and well-being are interlaced. We have feared, hoped, and grieved as one.

We need each other. It doesn’t matter where we work, who we are, what we own–we all are touched by the events of 2020. And we all need each other to choose what’s best. Even if we don’t know each other, our actions can help or hurt one another.

We all matter. The grocery worker. The delivery person. The garbage collector. We are essential and we are dependent on one another.

2020 has given us many gifts…

The gift of heroism. What it means to be a hero. Those who show up day after day in the face of a pandemic.

The gift of justice. To stand side by side in protest and demand a better way.

The gift of agency. To brave elements and toxicity to vote–to make our voice matter.

The gift of sacrifice. To make sacrifices for the good of others. To wear a mask. To stay home. To forego events.

The gift of humility. To acknowledge there’s much I do not know. To trust our leaders. Our scientists. To cry out to God for healing and mercy and justice.

The gift of compassion. For those who are afraid and vulnerable. For those who are sick and suffering. For those who are lonely. For the way this pandemic has broken all of us–all of us–in some way. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Financially. Socially. Each of us is off kilter. And we have compassion for one another.

The gift of wisdom. To see beyond the surface of who people are. For character to be revealed in our leaders–good or bad.

The gift of clarity. To see what really matters.

The gift of gratitude and appreciation. For small and great things. For miraculous vaccines and for staples from the store. For HOME!

The gift of prayerfulness. To come to God regularly for the needs of others. Because He alone can mend what is broken.

The gift of patience. My needs are not greater than others. We wait. We don’t push or demand.

With gratitude: Farewell 2020, but thank you, by the grace of God, for the gifts you have given me in a year when so much was taken.