Goodbye 2020!

Happy New Year's Eve Day! Is that even a thing? Ha! We woke up to 2020's final word on things...we went from 50 degrees yesterday to 30 degrees and snow this morning. Big, fat, fluffy flakes quickly put down an inch or two. And of course there had to be a bit of icy mix first so the roads are not good. I am thankful, however, that the temperature is supposed to rise a bit above freezing and most of the mess should be quickly gone. Not bad at all compared to what a lot of the nation is going to be experiencing today and tomorrow. (You didn't really think 2020 would leave without one last hit did you?)

We've made it to the last day of a year that has been difficult for the entire world and just like any other year, we like to look back and remember, take stock of our failures and successes, make resolutions about things we need to do better at, and count our blessings. 

To be sure, there have been a lot of bad things about 2020, and if I were to focus on them it would be very easy to be depressed about it. However, there were a lot of good things about 2020 and those are the things I am choosing to focus on.

So...2020, I am thankful:

** that you got me out of a job that was making me more and more miserable. 

** the combination of not working and a few sessions of physical therapy allowed my IT band to heal and relieved my pain.

** for all the time you gave me at home to spend with my two youngest grandchildren, creating memories and a very strong bond.

** I've been available to help my daughter out when she's needed me.

** for all the books I had time to read.

** Tim's continued to work and we have not experienced any financial difficulty.

** my family has remained Covid-free.

** Zoom has given us a way to keep having Bible studies, church services, family gatherings, and school.

** for the creativity that has developed in the world as we find ways to cope with you 2020. 

** that I was able to meet my biological father and half-brother for the first time and continue developing relationships with them and my half-sister.

** for the love, support, encouragement, and wise counsel of face-to-face and online friends.

** you've brought out a lot of good in people as we work to help those who are struggling in some way.

** for my word for 2020, Abide. God was good and faithful. Through you, 2020, He made sure I had the time to do just that...abide in Him. I have really immersed myself in the Word, in studies, and prayer. I have learned much, grown my faith by leaps and bounds, and seen the way I think and feel about things change, drastically in some cases.

** that for your final act, you led me to my word for 2021. That word is Abundance. Several other words had been popping up, feeling sort of right, but none seemed to be exactly right. Abundance is an umbrella word that all the other words...love, peace, hope, serve, light, shine, connect, joy...fall under. I believe 2021 is going to be a year of abundance for me. An abundance of good things flowing from heaven and an abundance of good things flowing outward from me into the world. As God pours into me and my life with abundance, I will be so filled up it will have to spill out.

There you go, 2020. Though I often joke about you, I am grateful for you and thank you for all you have meant in my life and for all the good you have brought to others.

2021...I can't wait to meet you!

Linking with Rebecca Jo for Thankful Thursday.