Just imagine with me for a few moments. You have awakened from a deep sleep, you know, one those that you feel like you have been sleeping for days. You open your eyes, to bright shining sun rays coming through your blinds and sit up saying aloud “today will be a great day!” You get up, make the bed and head to shower then get dressed and off to the kitchen for breakfast. There you prepare for the day. You begin by making and eating some breakfast and coffee, “coffee smells great today,” you tell yourself. You also make your lunch to bring to work with you and off to work you go.

Before heading to work, you need to stop at the store, you did promise to bring in some of that special coffee creamer after all. You get out of the car, start walking towards the door and then wham! You realize that you do not have your mask!

Wait, your what? Your mask. Hard to believe that after 9 months we are still in need of wearing a mask indoors around others, but we do. – This isn’t a dream; this isn’t some strange fake blog story – this is REALITY. REALITY feels very “unreal” these days and for all of 2020.

2020 came in fairly quiet, we in the USA knew about covid-19 and it had even reached the states in December (maybe even earlier) but there was not a feel of heavy worry or concern about it – nor a definite acknowledgement of it being here. Officially covid-19 is reported in January – hello 2020! By the end of January travel bans begin to take place and by the middle of March President Trump declares a national emergency as covid-19 is rampantly spreading and taking lives.

So, a pandemic is declared in 2020 along with the USA has what I would says its most brutal election season ever. One that ended 2020 with so much doubt and uncertainty that it will roll over into 2021 – starting 2021 off like a grizzly bear fighting a Kodiak bear – big, ugly fight!

But I don’t want to point out a million negatives about 2020, feels like everyone is doing that and guess what – good things did happen in 2020!

The world became a little more closed off due to restrictions, but it also (I believe) allowed for people to develop relationships with each other, their families, spouses and more. We became creative in how we do many things now. Many stores have made it convenient to shop online and offer curbside pick-up – no getting out in the rain or snow for the consumer, sorry workers!

Some good highlights of 2020

• Parents were able to spend more time with their kids and actually bond with them!
• Retail stores created curbside service.
• Many communities offered outdoor dining in places they would have never allowed before -maybe after the pandemic this will continue – after all it did bring community into community!
• ZOOM video calls to loved ones and friends that may have never happened before! We take so much for granted.
• Drive In Theaters making a comeback
• Working from home = dress clothes are t-shirts and shorts
• Hobbies – people have time for hobbies!
• Weddings by Zoom
• Christmas Decorations everywhere
• Books and reading popular once again
• Bird watching? Why not -amazing creatures, little or no stress involved.
• Streaming movies and shows by the thousands
• Drive by birthdays to help people celebrate their special day
• More outdoor activities that allowed us to get out and feel a little less closed in and still safe.
• Churches became creative in services by going online, holding drive in services and outdoor services!

2020 saw its share of depression, anger, frustration and death. BUT it also saw its share of rekindling of friendships, love, peace and life. We made it through 2020 – hopefully many of us made it through becoming better humans. Hopefully we made it through by sharing the Gospel more than ever before and seeing more people come to Christ than ever before.

2020 – came in with sickness, fires, storms, civil unrest and more – 2020 has gone out with political unrest, sickness, storms and more, but it is also going out with hope. A hope for a better world, a hope for a successful vaccine for covid-19 and a hope that all in the world will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

Thanks 2020 – for the being the year that “was’Nt”

Two final quotes from a great speaker, author and pastor, Carey Nieuwhof:

You will never confess your sins if you believe everyone and everything else is to blame.

Leading people to Jesus in a world that’s moving away from Jesus is an increasingly difficult challenge…and increasingly larger opportunity.

Thanks for stopping by the fire,

Pastor Dennis