COVID-19 has had no pity, yet it has served to stir compassion for our fellow travelers. We have felt one another's pain and sorrow as most of us have not experienced such level of empathy before. I hope our concern for others doesn't dwindle when COVID is fought back with the vaccine and, hopefully, forever retreats. I know that I will need to be diligent about that. Differing viewpoints on the pandemic itself has caused some strained relationships. I have felt cared for by those who have shown their love by masking and social distancing; not so much from those who had a point to prove otherwise. Loving others compassionately is not a natural trait for any of us. But it is God's way, and He has commanded us to love others and to seek their best interests.
Ethnic struggles have exposed hearts this year. Such struggles have been around since Babel and can be expected to continue until the Lord's return. While some of the encounters have been bad people doing bad things to good and bad people, there have been some entities that have preyed upon situations to make them into something unintended. Ethnic and cultural differences are accentuated and the divide intensified. Our only hope is to be united at the foot of the cross. With no entitlements, only grace.
The political atmosphere has been intense this year as well. From my personal perspective, it's been a year of battling to keep our land from merciless killing of the unborn, rampant immorality, and sexual perversion that destroys all that it touches. We are on the path of implosion and self-destruction. Only God's Word will enlighten us to the spiritual warfare around us. Too few recognize it. Oh, Yahweh, please open our eyes that we may see!
While the challenges of 2020 have been felt by all in one way or another, the blessings, however, have come to each of us personally in different ways. While many have grappled with anxiety and depression for these nine months of pandemic, many of us have felt peace in the midst of much chaos. Many of us have a heightened awareness for the care and concern of others. Most of us have more gratitude for healthcare workers and first responders and the knowledge God has allowed the medical profession to acquire. Many parents have rediscovered the joy of being with their children. Some children have learned to be good stewards of their time without the out-of-the-home scheduling that typically tethers them. Many of us have probably saved some money that we might have typically spent on impulse buying. We can look forward to 2021 to spending or investing it on something more worthwhile.
2020 will be a year we'll all remember. Our children will tell their children and grandchildren how it was for them. And so the cycle goes. As we recount 2020, let us also recount God's mercy and goodness--one generation telling the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.
May our eyes be open to His marvelous work in 2021! May we sense His abundant blessings.
