I Can Do It!

 

 

We made it! Sitting here in the early morning hours of the final day of the year 2020, I'm just reflecting back on the past 365 days. What a year it's been...if I were to find the right word to describe it, it still wouldn't do it justice. Maybe you're like me and can't wait for the clock to strike midnight and we can finally kick this year out to the curb and deadbolt the locks behind it! Maybe there's also a little part of you that's wondering if this year is simply the prelude of things to come in the next year? 

 As I reflect, this year did not exactly bring us blessings (at least the forms of blessings one would expect). Actually if I were to categorize 2020, I would say it will go down as one of the worst ones for our family in history...and maybe yours too. We've been forced to face situations that we never thought were possible. The unexpected quickly became the normal around here. Fear has surrounded us and the devil has looked us in the eyes many more times that I'd like to admit. The world around us and our little nest of comfort was literally burning to the ground. 

I talk about my kids in every post and how God works in me through them. I very much remember a time last month when my daughter was doing her dance class on Zoom (who knew that was a possibility a year ago?!). It's a good size class with about 12 four and five year old girls in it. They were doing this little warm-up where the teacher would ask questions like "Can you twirl?" and the girls would yell back "Yes I can!" There were many more questions but the response always came in the form of yelling at the tops of their lungs "Yes I can!" It struck me that the amount of confidence in that one phrase speaks volumes. It brought such a smile to my face and especially hearing the final phrase of "Yes I did it!"

 As you reflect back on this year, maybe you've experienced things you have never even imagined would happen. Did you make it through it? One of my favorite scriptures this year has been in Joshua 1:9 - "Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!" Going into the new year, don't we all want the confidence of a four-year old screaming at the tops of the lungs - "I can do it!" Or I'm reminded of the scene in Home Alone where Kevin Mccallister yells at the tops of his stairs - "Come and get me, I'm not afraid anymore!" I'm not saying having confidence means nothing bad will happen. It will. The unimaginable will hit you blindsighted at 9:47 on a Thursday morning. It will happen like a thief in the night. It will try and steal your joy, courage, self-confidence, and most importantly faith. But friends, please don't let it. If there's one thing we can take away from 2020 and bring it into 2021, it is that God was with us and will continue to be with us. Stay strong in that fact alone. Whatever things we face in 2021, He is there with us. Instead of looking back on this year in dread, let's remember all the little things we've gone through and celebrate that He brought us through! Here's to hoping 2021 brings you all joy and peace, but also that you would rest in the presence of the Savior. He is with us and will bring us all the courage to yell "I can do it!"