“Hindsight is Truly 2020”
December 31, 2020
As I write this blog from my home in Pennsylvania, it is already 2021 in some parts of the world. In a few short hours, it will also be 2021 in my part of the world and then it can be said, “Hindsight will truly be 2020”! Hindsight is the ability to understand and realize something about an event after it has happened, although you did not understand or realize it at the time. The 2020 clarity of hindsight may cause us to admit that perhaps we would do things differently.
I had to laugh as I read various comments many people made, on social media platforms, about 2020, and some of the irony and inconvenience inherent in the last year. Here are a few things people wrote:
- The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.
- In 2019 we were reminded to stay away from negative people. In 2020 we were told to stay away from positive people.
- The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house and their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors.
- I need to practice social distancing from my refrigerator.
- I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip to the Backyard. I’m getting tired of the Living Room.
- This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her dog. It was obvious she thought her dog understood her. I came into my house and told my cat. We laughed a lot.
- Never in a million years could I have imagined I would go up to a bank teller wearing a mask and ask for money.
This last year certainly brought things and took away things, and completely changed our routines, our normal, and our comfort zones. In hindsight, as one who does not make New Year’s resolutions, but rather, chooses a word for the year, I am so glad I chose the word “remain” for 2020. A year ago, I wrote about why I chose this word as the focal point for 2020:
“To remain is to look past the inconveniences, the faults, the unnecessary, and less than ideal, and to say with feet planted and heart unwavering, ‘I am not going anywhere.’ I want to remain. I want to be that daughter who remains at her aging parents’ side. I want to be a friend who stays. So how can I do that and remain with my word long after January 12, the day when most New Year’s resolutions die? How can I remain? By abiding in Christ.”
John 15: 5-6 reads,
“5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
“Remain” or “abide” appears 11 times in the first 11 verses of John 15. A grape branch lives and accomplishes its purpose only as it stays attached to the vine. Likewise, remaining in Jesus is the only way to live a fulfilling life. To abide in Jesus is to be satisfied in Him. Jesus calls us to find our value and purpose in Him, and not in our jobs, financial security, families, and friends. We are the grape branches which must continually draw life-giving nourishment from Him, or we will wither and die!
Little did I realize when I chose my word for 2020, that it would truly encompass inconveniences, and less than ideal circumstances as a result of a global pandemic. Little did I realize, that it would also come to literally mean, “Remain at home”! However, regardless of all the hardships of 2020, which all of us experienced (and some to a greater degree than others), surviving this past year, or any year, is possible because of abiding in Christ, and receiving His nourishment and blessings even in the midst of great trials.
I think the word “remain” will remain as my word for 2021, come what may! I pray that for you as well–that you will remain in Him, the Light of the world, in a very dark, troubled, and uncertain world!
Happy New Year!
Love,
Sheryl