Inside: filling 2021 with hope and leaning on some faith
Can you believe we are finally at the end of 2020?? I don’t know about you, but I was entirely too hopeful about the start of the New Year around this time last year.
And, then, 2020 came around and knocked us all for a loop. I think it is safe to say 2020 has been… not great.
Don’t get me wrong, there were some really good things that happened in 2020. I finished grad school (which, dear reader, is one reason I haven’t been blogging as much. There are some other reasons, but that’s a different post). And, by the grace of God, I passed my Spanish Praxis test (that’s a good story of faith, too!).
But, as I’m sure it’s the same with most of us this year, the bad seems to outweigh the good.
2020 has been hard. It’s been painful, chaotic, and downright hurtful.
There’s been a serious pandemic. A toilet paper shortage. Virtual learning. Riots. Social injustice. A rocky election. I mean, the list of the “not so great” could go on and on.
And, that’s just on a global/national level. I haven’t even hit on the personal stuff yet…
The Word(s) of the Year
At the end of a year and the start of a new one, I can’t help but be a little hopeful at the possibilities of new adventures a new year might bring.
But, I tell ya, the idea that 2021 will be 2020’s ugly cousin is enough to make me nervous already. Which is exactly why I’ve decided to claim hope as the Word of the Year for 2021. And, faith, because they kind of go hand in hand. Because, you know, Hebrews 11:1 says “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
A few years ago, some blogger friends introduced me to the concept of “the Word of the Year”. If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you’ll remember that in 2018, my phrase of the year (because I had to be a little extra and couldn’t go with just one word) was “Do your best and let God do the rest.” I can’t tell you how many times I hung on to that phrase during that year. When things were hard, I just repeated “do your best and let God do the rest” over and over in my head and things would end up okay.
Honestly, it still rings true today.
This year, though, most of the hope I’ve had about, well, most everything has all but vanished. Maybe, if I’m being honest, I had placed hope and faith in all the wrong things. When you do that, like I did, you’re bound to hurt your own feelings. It’s inevitable, really. (Do yourself a favor and learn from me!)
Hope and Faith to Get Us Through
2020 has taught me a lot of things. But, the most important lesson is God is always right there. Even when it doesn’t look like it and even when things are completely falling apart. (I guess this is a lesson I have to keep learning over and over again?)
He never, ever fails. He never wavers. And He never forsakes us.
So for 2021, hope and faith seem like appropriate words to frame the year on.
Hope for better days with the faith that blessings are right around the corner.
Hope that prayers will be answered and the faith to keep hanging on until they are.
And hope in the Light that will light the way and the faith to follow without question.
Here’s to 2021 and all that it may bring!
What about you, reader? What is your word (or words!) for the year? Tell me below in the comments!
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Thoughts?