It’s About God, not a New Year

So late-lee I’ve been thinking a lot about 2021.  I’ve even broken my own tradition and started putting away all of my Christmas decor the day after Christmas.  Typically, I do this on New Year’s Day. My mom always told me it would bring me good luck. Well, I guess I’ve learned one big thing in 2020, is it’s not about luck, it’s about God.  It took one simple bottle of vinegar to remind me of this this morning. This past year has been full of so many things. It’s hard to see past the ugly to find the beauty in it all, but we must do that. He would want us to do that.  

Tonight at midnight, many will celebrate that 2020 is behind us! They’ll bid this year of pandemic and violence farewell, with the hope that 2021 will bring them everything they ever wanted including good health, prosperity, and love. Wouldn’t we all want that? Maybe we actually had that in 2020 and just lost sight of it.  

As I reflect on all of those personal things that hit so hard in my life, the ones that top my list are my husband’s surgery for cancer, my friend finding out during that same time, she had breast cancer, my friend losing her son, and Covid 19 infiltrating my family, but even in those moments, I can see that God was/is at work.  In all of those things, I see now the love that was woven into each of those events.  The phone calls, late night talks, hands held, smiles shared, dinners left and I could go on and on are all evidence of how people show their love for me and others.  It’s that kind of love that creeps into the crevices of our broken heart and mends it.  

Yes, undoubtedly, this year has been rough.  Personally, I feel like I’ve been on the struggle bus.  Wait! A bus moves much too slow to describe what it has felt like. Maybe I should correct that and liken it to riding a roller coaster, but not buckled in.  Imagine that…you are hanging on for dear life as it races upside down and you find yourself gripping the bar as you are dangling, then as it hits the straight away you fall into the seat briefly breathing a sigh of relief only to find another loop has swiftly arrived.  I can say that 2020 has been that way for me, but if I’m honest with myself, life has been that way.  In Jeremiah 29:11 ESV , we learn the verse: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  While we feel everything we experienced was unique and came out of nowhere, God knew even before he breathed air into our lungs that we would experience it. He walked through those experiences with us whether we felt his presence or not. When I felt all alone during these hard times, it was because I wasn’t reaching out to Him. He was always there. There is always love wrapped up into these moments too.

During the loops, I find myself really seeking God. I’m begging and bargaining (I know I shouldn’t do that) for Him to answer my prayers the way I want. But, on the straight aways, I fall silent. I don’t find myself talking to Him as much (I know I shouldn’t do that too) because maybe I feel like I don’t need Him.  Have you ever found yourself in this type of relationship with God? I know it makes him sad for me to be this way.  He will reveal himself to me in subtle ways. Just this morning as I am going through a list of ingredients for Red Velvet cupcakes, I realized I didn’t have any white vinegar. The thought of actually having to dress to go to the store wasn’t appealing to me, so I was trying to figure out what would happen if I left out the vinegar.  Any good baker (not me) knows that you actually need the vinegar to cause a reaction with the baking soda in order for a good rise to occur with your cake…okay, admittedly I knew that. I was just trying to figure out different options to get around it.

And, of course it made me think  about my relationship with God. See, during the moments when life is rolling along, and I’m not reaching out to Him, I’m missing out on the wonderful reaction. I’m not rising or growing in my faith.  I’m sitting still. One of my previous Sunday school teachers (who I loved) used to draw a picture of a cross on the board. He would mark an “X” that represents where you may be in your journey and then show where you may detour a bit by drawing another “X” out to the side. He would then say that there was no way to get from the “outside x” upward on the cross. You literally start where you fell off. So, I’ve been falling off a lot during my journey.  I hate to admit that, but I’ve always committed to being honest in these posts. So, there you go, more evidence of my imperfections. 🙂

So, instead of proclaiming resolutions of weight loss, getting rid of my diet Cokes, exercising daily, I’ll focus on what a New Year really needs to be about…it’s about God! As I make my cupcakes and pour in just a teaspoon of vinegar, I’ll remind myself that I need to do more than add vinegar to the batter. I need to be vinegar to others I encounter.  I will seek God daily and I will strive to cause positive reactions in any interaction I have. What about you? Want to be vinegar with me? Remember, we rise by lifting others so let’s do that in 2021!