At the beginning of 2020, I chose "Abide" as my keyword. None of us have any way of knowing what a year holds when we step across the threshold into January and beyond. Most years have challenges, but 2020 has been more difficult than usual with the spread of COVID-19. I have found that when I abide in Jesus and trust in Him, I have peace, contentment, and everything else I need. In John 16:33 Jesus told his disciples, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
This year I was supposed to do several things that didn't happen:
Speak at an international women's conference in Edmonton
Go on a mission trip with one of my sons to Mexico
Go on a cruise with one of my Christian writing friends
In some ways, I felt like I was cheated. However, I also know that God does not make any mistakes, and I believe He works everything together for our good (Romans 8:28).
Throughout my life, God has taught me to focus on the positive rather than the negative, and to change what I have control over rather than wishing things were different. I believe this is part of abiding...resting, trusting, relying on God.
This year abiding in Jesus has brought many positive results. I can look back at 2020 with a smile because God has allowed me to experience many blessings.
My son, Jayson, did graduate from high school, even if his graduation ceremony was not what was expected. (He wasn't sure he wanted to dress up and be on display anyway!)
Our family has been content and happy through all the challenges of COVID-19, even my son who struggles with mental illness. I know this is not true for other families.
Our family was able to get financing approved and purchase a beautiful home near Moose Lake where we are able to enjoy seeing deer in our yard. (We only had about six weeks between the day we made an offer to purchase until the closing date to get everything in place.)
Our family continued to receive consistent, quality service for our children with disabilities when other families were told no service was available.
I was able to present a workshop at the virtual InScribe Fall Conference.
Our contract with PDD to support my twins was renewed at the same rate as last year. Unfortunately, other families had their contract hours cut.
I was also able to speak and present a workshop for the Born to Soar virtual conference.
So far our family has been healthy.
I know there may still be difficult days ahead. Maybe we haven't seen the worst of COVID-19 yet. Perhaps we will face illness or death. However, I also know that God knows the future and will walk through it with me and my family.
What about you? Have you found positive things to focus on during 2020?
No matter how you filled in the blank w-a-y back in December
2019 or January of this year, it’s almost guaranteed these past 10 months have
not gone as you expected.
COVID-19. Economic uncertainty. Kids at home … all. the.
time.
Pivot. Overwhelm. The New Normal.
I know too many people who have faced unfathomable
challenges this year to offer platitudes or pat answers.
I do, however, want to encourage you, knowing your plans for
2020 have not unfolded as you expected.
Here are seven things that can help you purge some stress
and possibly, give you hope for 2021, despite what has become The Year of Unmet
Expectations.
Pick up a pen (or sit down at your computer) and pour out
your questions, uncertainties, and frustrations on paper. No one else has
to read these musings—ever. In fact, you can crumple them up or feed them through
a shredder to make sure that never happens. However, it can be very cathartic
to come face to face with what you’re truly thinking and feeling.
Be kind to yourself. Just because other people have
achieved things they’d long been putting off, maybe getting a little extra rest
or having a long, hot soak in the tub is just what you need. (Know that if, day
after day, you find it difficult to drag yourself out of bed or you find
yourself binge-watching Netflix series you don’t even enjoy, it’s probably time
to talk with someone. A family member. A good friend. A professional counsellor.
Recognizing your need for outside help is another way of being kind to
yourself.)
Look for opportunities to be kind to others. Meeting
other’s needs, as you are able, has a way of filling your emotional tank. (Sometimes,
it takes no more than a phone call to brighten someone’s day. Sometimes, it
means preparing a meal for someone who is sick or running an errand for someone
who is fearful about venturing out.)
Spend time with family and friends. You may think, “Spend
time with family? As much as I love them, I need a break.” The increased hours
you’ve spent with your spouse and children may be adding to your stress. But
why not do something just for fun, something you all enjoy? And if you have
family who live at a distance … (One of my sons and his wife live in Scotland;
the other lives two provinces over.) If your situation is similar to mine,
Skype, Zoom, and FaceTime may be among the only ways you can stay in touch.
Work out a time that is doable for everyone involved and stay in touch. And
when it comes to friends, many coffee shops and restaurants are open. But if
that makes you uncomfortable or is beyond the budget, taking a walk in the park
together or having a socially distanced BBQ outdoors can meet emotional needs
you didn’t even know you had.
Create a gratitude journal. Even listing one thing
each day you are grateful for can cause a mind shift. If you get into the habit
of deliberately looking for the things you have to be thankful for, it will help
you deal with all the negatives that bombard you day after day.
Don’t give up on the idea of making plans for 2021,
but seek to create reasonable expectations of what you will be able to
accomplish. Learn from the uncertainty of this past year and allow it to make
you more adaptable. (I’m shifting from Dreamer to Doer, narrowing my focus,
seeking to keep fewer plates spinning. Instead of grieving what I fear I’m
giving up, I’m looking forward to working on some projects that will require perseverance
for the long haul.)
And remember that none of this took God by surprise
nor has His character changed. He is still loving, faithful, and trustworthy. You
can rest secure in Him no matter what the future brings.
Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, author, and blogger.
You can visit her website-in-progress, nurtureandinspire.com
In my January 4th post I shared that my word for 2020 was
"centre." I shared the sentiment that by "[centring] my life and thoughts on Christ, I [would] also
be ready for whatever
comes my way."
I wonder if any of us could really be ready for
what 2020 has brought? A global pandemic, violence and chaos in the streets
(especially in the U.S.), an election year (also in the U.S., but the outcome
of which will ripple around the world). I don't think anything short of a
prophet whose reliability had been tested and proven true could have prepared
us for the waters we've been passing through corporately.
photo by wjstokhof0 (Pixabay)
I recently said to my husband that the only good
thing that has happened this year was our trip at the end of February/beginning
of March, just before the pandemic hit and everything started to shut down.
Although, prior to our coach and cruise vacation, I'd been doing a pretty good
job of centring, starting my day with the songs Turn Your Eyes Upon
Jesusand As the Deer Pants for
the Water, and spending time in God's Word. I'd continued my
practice of scripture writing, using the SOAP method. But as often happens when I am
out of my routine, as the days of our tour passed, my habits were cast off and
set adrift.
I caught a cold in Florida, felt it coming on as we
watched the Toronto Blue Jays lose to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Dunedin
Stadium. Returning to Canada, I called in sick to work and was advised to
contact my Public Health department for instructions. Public Health told me to
self-isolate but that I didn't need a Covid-19 test as I had not travelled to a
high-risk area. By the time my self-isolation period was over, my workplace had
closed.
You would think that with so much spare time now
available, I'd have buckled down on the centring, but no. Like many, I was like
a ship without a sail. The only aspect of focus that continued unabated was the
scripture writing. The rest of my time was consumed with working on my novel,
writing blog posts, staying connected with online prayer groups, participating
in Zoom book club and life group meetings, trying to declutter my home, doing
the usual tasks of dishes, laundry, meals, dusting and vacuuming, walking the
dog, running back and forth to deliver groceries to my mom in Toronto, helping
my young adult children where needed, and repeat.
photo by smaus (Pixabay)
Just before I returned to work in June, my mom
fell. She tore her rotator cuffs and broke a vetebra in her spine. I had to
bring her home with me, take her to physiotherapy appointments, help her work
on her mobility, and all the other things that go along with eldercare. In
September she had a pacemaker insertion, followed by a six week recovery. More
running back and forth to Toronto. All sense of normalcy blown out of the
water.
Somehow, in all of this, I managed to attend to one
verse from that January post, Philippians 4:8, quoting it to those with
sinking, stinking thinking, and in doing so, to myself as well.
Finally, brothers
and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.
At last, toward the end of September, the larger
concept of centring returned. What was the prompt? Looking forward to this
Novemberpost? Beginning a 12-week
spiritual disciplines class? Commencing a 9-month spiritual autobiography
course? I'm not sure, but I'm glad my sails were finally hoisted. I know I need
to be centred on Christ, that if I'm not, my life gets out of control and I
stop relying on His strength, trusting in my own.
I guess in a way I'm back to square one on this,
but that's okay. With the year we've had, we need show ourselves grace and
that's what I'm going to do. For next steps, I'm going to revisit
the different areas I identified in that original post and how I might
centre each of them around the Lord in a way that pleases Him now: family and
friend relationships, church and online activities, writing, work, and
personal.
God has been reminding me of truths from His Word:
He is patient and long-suffering. He is good. He is working in this world,
working in me, working in those around me, even when I cannot see or
understand. His plans are not to harm me, but to give me a hope and a future. He's
been teaching me to focus on what is excellent and praiseworthy, and I'm going
to keep turning the prow of my ship to centring on the Lord through song and
scripture, renewing my mind in a way that calibrates my inner compass. Meeting
God in the morning is an important part of that, preventing the day's current
from sweeping me away on its tides.
He's my lighthouse!
photo by mollyroselee (Pixabay)
Unfurl the sails and let God steer us where He will. ~ St.
Bede
As most of my fellow InScribers know, 2019 was a battleground year for me. Fighting endometrial (uterine) cancer, I finished my last radiation treatment on December 3rd, rejoicing in the fact I was cancer-free once again. It was a long, and weary fight and I'm still trying to overcome some of the side effects associated with my treatments. I had hoped to start the New Year, more or less, back to normal, but I have a new "normal" now, and it's taking me a little time to get used to it. Doctor, and specialist appointments are already on my calendar. I haven't committed myself to participate in any extra activities because I never know how I will feel on any given day. I used to plan well in advance, now I don't look further ahead than a week at a time. Sometimes that gets shortened to a day at a time. I know it's all part of the recovery phase I now find myself, but it does get frustrating, especially for my A-type personality, to be forced to rest when my heart says "RUN!" It's that old adage of my mind is willing but my body is weak.
On January 3rd, I joined our local recreation centre, determined to begin my fitness journey again. I'm not a resolution person, but I feel it important to build up my stamina and try to stave off the aging process as much as possible. I've got two "set in stone" calendar dates I cannot miss: my daughter's wedding on July 18th, and the 40th Anniversary of the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope run in Victoria, B.C., on September 20th. I know the organizer of the head-shaving event, and I have been asked to be one of the guest speakers. I have made my plans for those two special days, but I also know only too well that, "In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
That particular scripture verse has been my life verse. I have gotten so used to the U-turns in life that I am no longer surprised by them. 2019 taught me that when a health crisis hits, all plans change, almost in an instance. Nothing else takes precedence than fighting the battle. Dates on the calendar are wiped clean, activities are cancelled or rescheduled. The idea is to trust God and allow Him to steer me through, around and over any of those unexpected life-changes I find myself. God has never steered me wrong!
My prayers are that 2020 will be filled with countless memory-making events, and that I will be strong and healthy to plan, and enjoy each and every one of them!
I have appreciated all your prayers for me last year, and ask that you continue to pray for me while I continue to recover.
Lynn Dove is the award-winning author, of the YA “Wounded Trilogy”- a contemporary Christian fiction series with coming-of-age themes. A wife, mom, grandmother, and free-lance writer with articles published in several magazines and anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her blog, “Journey Thoughts” is a Canadian Christian Writing Award winner. Readers may connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and at lynndove.com
