Reflections and Prayers for the New Year
“Look what God did in 2020! He made us spend more time with family!”
— LENA, AGE 8
“We celebrate 2020 because we have a vaccine.”
— LEYSON, AGE 11
“Dear God, we pray 2021 is full of joy, happiness, and new friends.”
— LENA, AGE 8
“Dear God, in 2021 I hope for peace and prosperity for the world.”
— JAMES, AGE 13
This week I heard from a good friend of mine via text. It started off as a simple, “Just thinking about ya!” And turned into “what a year it has been.” She shared that last year she rang in the new year at a roaring 1920s-themed party. I chuckled thinking about how people would celebrate the new year in 100 years with a 2020 theme: masks, 6-feet apart, toilet paper streamers, yoga pants, the smell of Lysol in the air… That one guy would show up in a hazmat suit bringing laughter and good cheer to all of the party guests. By then Zoom will be long-lost like MySpace and Minesweeper. Perhaps a tech developer would bring it back for kicks. “Vintage” software.
This conversation got me thinking about 2020. Like always, I prepared for January 1st with my personal “word of the year,” but at this point I can’t remember what it was. I know I had goals, but all of those went out the window. “Just roll with it” became my motto as plans shifted and changed and everything came to a halt. If 2020 were captured in a time lapse video, I wouldn’t binge watch that series. Or maybe I would. We are entertained by the craziest things.
There were so many hard circumstances happening world-wide that affected individuals, families, communities, people groups, and countries. Not just Covid. It would have been a hard year even without the pandemic. The events of this year seemed to come in tidal waves with rippling repercussions. The words “heartbreaking,” “overwhelming,” and “isolating” come to mind when I think about it all.
But I refuse to head into 2021 with the attitude that 2020-won. As hard as things were this year, we have had to dig a little deeper to find the good things. Seeking out the beauty in an otherwise bleak space is a challenge, but not one that leaves the seeker weary. As we reconsider the often-overlooked minutia as, instead, blessings from God, we will find joy in the unlikeliest places. 2020 gave us the opportunity to fine-tune our God lens to clearly see His goodness and shift our focus on Him. It has allowed us to grow in empathy, to love others like God loves us, and open our hearts in ways that we hadn’t before. We have grieved and because of that we have grown. Our struggles have not been in vain. Though the enemy has been hard at work eating away at our joy and peace, he is not victorious.
Warriors and worshippers, as we leave 2020 behind and head into the new year, we need to keep our eyes fixed on God. Let’s link arms and raise our banners to declare victory over the past, present, and future with Mighty God at the helm. Happy New Year and may you be blessed in 2021!
“We will sing for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.”
— PSALM 20:5
FAMILY FAITH ACTIVITY
I was sharing with our Haitian friend, Nini, about our tradition of shooting fireworks at midnight on January 1st. She told me that at 12 AM in Haiti, they pray. This year we will enter 2021 with sparklers and prayer shining light over the darkness. Over the next few days, spend time as a family reflecting over 2020 and praying for 2021. Encourage the kids to highlight both big and little things. Talk about the important and silly things, too. Use the following printouts to guide 2020 Reflections and Prayers for 2021. My younger two enjoyed the prompts on banners, while my teenager preferred a space to write out prayers. Credit for the scrolls printable goes to my son, James.*
*Things to note: As we were doing this as a family, my teen needed us to acknowledge that seeing the good this year didn’t come easy. 2020 was hard on middle school boys and he needed a little more help seeing the pools of blessings around us. Acknowledging this helped him sift through the bad to find the good.
