It is God who gives us vision and power for us to do the right things.
Philippians 2:13 BLT [1]
Look back over 2020. What three words would describe 2020 for you? Note, I’m not asking for you to recap 2020 like you were a newscaster listing the top three stories; i.e. the pandemic, the election, the economy.
When I was asked this question out of the blue by my good friend Dave I responded with:
Focus.
Hard-work.
Best-year-ever.
At the beginning of 2020 I selected a “word for the year” – FOCUS. I’ve been a “word for the year” kind of guy for a long time. Like others, I’ve found one word can make a big difference if i pay attention to it 365 days in a row.
2020 was a focus year for me to get after things that were important to my family, my faith, and my service to others.
2020 was a hard-work year for me because the important things are not always the easy things – and so, I needed to do the work and do it well.
2020 was a best-year-ever for me in spite of the pandemic, the election, and the economy due in large part I think because I focused on what I could do rather than what I couldn’t. I showed up each day for work, and at the end of the day I put the tools down, ate a good meal with my wife and took the rest of the day off grateful for what we had.
So, take a few minutes and come up with three words you would use to describe 2020 for you.
Write them down, talk to God about them.
If you need to weep then weep. If you need to celebrate then celebrate. The big idea here is to open your heart to God, let Him in on where you are, then surrender what those words bring up for you to Him.
Next week we will talk more about the “word for the year” idea. For now, take that short look back.
[1] Bud Lamb Translation