I think we can all agree that 2020 has been pretty much the weirdest year ever. We’ve all been impacted by the global pandemic, political divisiveness, and social unrest. On top of that, we’re all dealing with personal challenges as well.
For me, 2020 brought some bizarre health scares.
I dealt with tremors so severe it was difficult to do even the most basic of tasks, my mom spent a few days in the hospital after doctors thought she was having a heart attack (she probably wasn’t – we still don’t know for sure), and our beloved one year old pug almost died after having a severe allergic reaction to vaccines.
It’s been a stressful year, but I am incredibly thankful that I am okay, my mom is alright, and my sweet pug is finally back to her usual hyperactive self.
Here’s what the weirdest year ever has taught me.
The Little Things are the Big Things
I dealt with tremors (mostly in my hands, but also in my arms and legs) for six days. It wasn’t a slight shaking – it was shaking so intense that it was excruciatingly difficult to do anything at all. Simply getting through each day was exhausting.
The shaking was so bad that I had a hard time working (typing was awful), eating, getting dressed, and taking care of myself. I almost fell down a few times due to the shaking in my legs.
I had no idea what was causing the tremors (many medical tests later, I still don’t know) and I didn’t know if this was temporary. I was worried about what I’d do if this lasted for the rest of my life. How would I work? How would I take care of myself?
Thank God the tremors were gone after six days.
I don’t take the use of my hands for granted anymore.
There were many things that I was taking for granted (or even complaining about) before I had tremors. Now, I realize what a blessing it is to be able to complete simple tasks with ease.
I’m so thankful for what my hands can do – I’m thankful that I have hands that allow me to clean, organize, do chores around the house, scrapbook, type, write, eat, cook, take care of my dogs (and myself), and so much more.
When you are thankful for the little things, they don’t seem so little.
The little things are the big things.
I Have Enough for Today
When the tremors were happening, I had to stop thinking about the future. I’m a planner by nature and I love to focus on the future. Being present in the moment just doesn’t come naturally to me.
But when I was in the middle of this health scare, I had to take it day by day. Thinking about what would come next was too overwhelming.
I kept reminding myself that I was okay today. God had given me enough for today.
I had managed to get through the day…to work, to eat, to take a shower, to get dressed. I didn’t know what the future held, but I knew that for today, I was okay.
This mindset can be applied to many different scenarios. If you’re worried about money, remind yourself that you have enough money for today.
Struggling with a difficult situation? Don’t focus too much on what the next week, month, or year will bring.
Remember that God has given you enough for today. Enough strength, enough grace, enough hope.
If you’re asking yourself how you’re going to get through this challenging situation, I have news for you: you’re already doing it. It may be hard and messy and scary, but you ARE doing it.
Uncertainty is Reality
During 2020, we’ve all been faced with constant reminders of how uncertain the future is.
Many of us don’t know when we’ll go back to work (in person), when school will start again, when we’ll be able to eat in a restaurant or go to the gym…the list goes on.
We have no idea when things will finally start to seem “normal” again.
But the truth is, life is always uncertain. We never know what’s going to happen next.
Tomorrow, I could wake up with unexplained tremors…or my pug could go into anaphylactic shock from a vaccine…or my mom could end up in the hospital.
I certainly didn’t see any of those things coming.
In 2020, uncertainty has become more obvious, but it’s always been there (regardless of whether or not we acknowledge it).
Uncertainty is a constant reality in life – the only thing we can be certain of is uncertainty!
If we can learn to accept this, we will have so much peace. We often think that control will give us peace, but this isn’t true.
The need for certainty and control does the exact opposite – it takes away our peace.
We’re in This Together
2020 has been a reminder that we’re all in this together. We’re not in the same boat – some are in a yacht, others are in a canoe, and some are drowning.
But the one thing that ties us together this year is that we are all in the same storm.
We’re all navigating new challenges this year that we never saw coming. We’re learning how to work at home and homeschool kids at the same time.
We’re doing everything we can to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
We’re learning how to make tough decisions every day.
You are not alone in whatever challenges you’re facing.
We Will Find A Way
We’ve learned a lot about ourselves this year. We’ve adapted to constant change and we’ve discovered that we’re much more flexible that we realized.
I’m thankful for the technology we have that allows us to work remotely, homeschool kids, attend virtual events, and so much more.
This has been a difficult year, but I hope we’ve all taken a moment to pause and reflect on how truly remarkable it is that we still managed to accomplish so much in 2020.
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