Everyone experienced last year differently.. and despite the popular narrative that 2020 is a year to “throw out” like curbside trash, it is also one for which I am deeply grateful.
In 2020, we experienced many hardships. I lost three of my grandparents, and in June we miscarried our third child. Less than two weeks later, I became pregnant with our fourth child, Jamie. After 3 years of losses, secondary infertility, and barely holding on to hope, it is still hard to believe that I am nearly 31 weeks pregnant with our beautiful rainbow baby!
Last year we practiced flexibility and shifted the direction of branches of our business. We temporarily shut down some of our locations during the spring, and increased our online workload. We survived, even while many local businesses shut down (including several of my favorite restaurants!!).
We experienced distance from family and friends due to the pandemic, and canceled plans.
I experienced the constraints of a pregnancy during COVID19-restrictions: more isolation, and void of a lot of the celebration that usually comes with preparing to welcome an unborn child.
Yet, intermingled with the challenges, it has been a year of abundance.
Abundance of depth: as the superficial was cut away to reveal what is really meaningful.
Abundance of value: realizing our true priorities and what is really irreplaceable to our lives.
Abundance of love: a person does not have to be present to make the value of their presence known, and often it is their absence that reveals how much we care for them.
Abundance of health: not of physical well-being necessarily, but of the discernment to see what was toxic and what was healthy in our pre-pandemic lives. There is clarity in the absence of being “busy”.
For many, it has been a year of suffering.. but, not every year is a year to harvest.
Sometimes it is not even a year to plant.
Perhaps 2020 was a year to let fields lay bare. To let them breathe, and for soil to mend.
And, when it is mended, to begin again.
For those who have suffered, I pray that you are comforted.
For those who have experienced losses, I pray that you shall also experience gains beyond what you could ask or imagine.
For those who have been ill, I pray for healing.
And for everyone, I pray that 2021 will be a year full of grace.
A year of mended soil, of rebuilding, and courage to overcome, come what may.
Photo credits: (c) theharunafamily.com
No Comments