20 Thoughts at the Close of 2020
1. Even amidst our gluten-fearing society a loaf of homemade bread is nearly always a welcome gift and a wonderful way to share neighborly affection (cookies work well too)
2. A well crafted cup of coffee with real cream is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Also, buy the good beans.
3. We must never forgo the local library!!!
4. Target might be convenient but what a sad world it would be without independent, small businesses. Supporting them should be a regular practice.
5. You have no idea what’s going on behind someone’s mask or Instagram squares. We must be more gentle with each other. More compassionate. Less quick to judge.
6. Believe the best of someone first.
7. Dogs really are the best of friends. (I hear cats are nice too but I have yet to truly believe it.)
8. Despite what the media tell us, Republicans and Democrats can be friends.
9. Hope is a necessary part of life. We all need hope. And we all put our hope in something or someone. If your neighbor’s hope lies in something different than yours don’t shame them for it. They hope in one presidential candidate; you hope in another. It’s okay. You.can.still.be.friends. (And if not friends, at least decent to each other. If you can’t do this you need to stop looking outward and start gazing inward.)
10. The place to find ultimate hope that will never fail is in Jesus.
11. The book title “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” sums up my 2020 experience with my children.
12. I am daily baffled by my extremely polarizing desire to want to gather my three chicks close to me and smoother them in my affection, and also flee the scene and be alone. Motherhood is a dance full of daily grace.
13. Don’t take health for granted. What you put into your body really, really matters.
14. Baking is therapy. Drink the celery juice, but please also make cinnamon rolls on a random Sunday.
15. Be the kind of parents who are always in your kid’s corner. Even when they mess up forgo shame and instead teach. I’m 38 years old and my parents are still doing this for me. And I’ve never stopped needing it.
16. Books have the ability to change the world. If everyone read and absorbed all the books on racial injustice that were sold this last year, and then adjusted behavior and ideology accordingly, then we could see real change in this world.
17. People > Stuff
18. Uncertainty is scary. And it can easily lead us to be consumed by fear. But living in fear is not only damaging to ourselves, but completely unproductive. Taking every thought captive, saying “no” to fear, and being wise with our mental health is just as important as our physical health.
19. Having a spouse who loves you and is committed to you even when you’re horrid is a gift. When the tables turn be sure to act the same.
20. Community is exceedingly important. Build it. Invest in it. Stick with it even when you’re let down and hurt. Because when the world flips and things get crazy your people are going to help hold you up.