2020...
What can we say? This year has been one wild crazy ride. I mean from the moment January stepped in, there has been tragedy and catastrophe in the world left and right. This year has been so traumatizing, a lot of us are afraid of what 2021 will bring! (Like can we PLEASE see a trailer of 2021 first?)
The other day, I saw a tweet that read "2020 has been horrible to me". I read another tweet that stated "We should just throw these last four months away". Talk about pessimistic right? But I mean, we are currently in the middle of a global pandemic and economic decline so I can kind of understand their negative attitude.
Anyways, seeing their tweets prompted me to ask myself "Has 2020 been good to me?"
I started to reflect on everything that I have been through personally this year. It is easy to look at all the public disasters and conclude that 2020 is a bad year, but it's different to look at things personally. Personally, I have endured a lot of disappointments this year. For instance, my first week of the new year was spent staying the night at a hospital with my mom because she was diagnosed with pneumonia in both of her lungs and possible congestive heart failure. (There's a strong possibility that she had Coronavirus and was misdiagnosed because, of course, in January there were no tests for COVID-19, but I digress). Not to mention, that my year-long relationship came to an unexpected end. Trust me, a breakup during a pandemic SUCKS. I was not awarded a fellowship that I worked SO HARD for. I lost an opportunity to compete in a Miss Arkansas preliminary pageant. I think the hardest blow of the year was having to push my graduation date back due to the fact that I could not secure an internship during the summer. So yeah, those disappointments made my 2020 slightly trash...
But my 2020 has still been BLESSED nevertheless.
I realized during my time of reflecting on all these disappointments, that they were all temporary distractions. While the setbacks hurt, they weren't enough to alter God's plan for my life. God used every single disappointment to open up more doors of blessing for me. I went from struggling to find an internship and survive off my income during the pandemic, to having a new job and a perfect internship site all in one. While I didn't receive that fellowship I wanted, I did receive a national ACA (American Counseling Association) award, a new graduate assistantship with Arkansas Counseling Association, and two new scholarships from my college. Even though my mom was battling sickness at the beginning of this year, she is still here pushing through this pandemic and about to celebrate her 51st birthday. Who knew that all these blessings would come in such a sad and stressful season for me?
2020 has not been easy, but I cannot sit here and say that it hasn't been good. It has been VERY GOOD because of the good God I serve! At this beginning of this year, my faith in God was at plateau; I believed, but I wasn't 100% devoted to God. I settled, but I wouldn't submit to God's will. Now, my faith is higher than it has ever been before. I see God moving in my life every day. Romans 8:28 states that "all thing work together for the good of those who love him" and I can truly say that I'm living proof of this scripture.
So please do not throw the rest of 2020 away! This year has been difficult, but it is still good. Why? Because God is good. If you put your faith in him, he will bring you so much peace and prosperity. I challenge you to put your faith in God, and instead of saying that 2020 has been or is a bad year, start declaring and believing that 2020 is a good year! Watch how things start to change for the better.
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