2020 - A Year to Remember? Or a Year to Forget?

Good ‘ol 2020. Who doesn’t have an opinion about 2020? Or maybe multiple opinions, feelings and emotions about 2020? Was 2020 a year to remember? Or a year to forget? It may be one of those years that many of us would just soon forget, but I believe there is still merit in taking time to intentionally reflect on our lives and reflect on the year. Yes, even a year like 2020.

There are a lot of sources that can give you a detailed, comprehensive run down of 2020 from a political, social and financial perspective. The highlights, the lowlights. The good, the bad, the ugly. That’s not the focus of my blog. I’m more interested in how 2020 impacted both you and me personally. Physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally and financially - How did you and I survive, regress, or thrive in 2020? Maybe most importantly, how did you and I survive, regress or thrive spiritually in 2020?

1. Physically – how did you survive, regress or thrive in 2020?

1. Probably the most obvious thing that comes to mind is the fact that I’m thankful I did not contract the corona virus in 2020. I had a lot of friends and family members, including my son and mom, who contracted the virus, but all of them survived. My heart goes out to anyone who was seriously or severely impacted by the virus or lost a loved one to the virus. I can’t imagine what a loss like that would feel like. Especially in an environment where we were isolated and prevented from being close to our loved one.

2. With everything shut down during the year and a lot of spare time on my hands, I turned to running on a daily basis. It was my getaway, my release, and even time for reflection. My runs became a conduit for some of my best prayer time. Time to both thank God for my blessings during the year but also time to wrestle with Him regarding everything going on in the world and in my life during 2020.

3. One of the bright spots for me physically during 2020 was setting a personal record or “PR” at an annual Thanksgiving Day 5K this year. I have always marveled that while the human body gradually declines as we get older - eye sight, smell, hearing - we still have this amazing capacity or potential for growth and improvement. I believe this not only applies to us physically, I believe it also applies to us on a mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual level. We still have an amazing capacity for growth and improvement in all of these areas.

4. I still have room for improvement, but at the end of 2020, I actually believe I thrived physically. I’m probably in better shape now than I was at the start of the year. What about you? Did you improve? Maintain? Or take a few steps backwards in 2020?

2. Mentally – how did you survive, regress or thrive in 2020?

1. How did you survive mentally in 2020? How did you discern truth during 2020? It felt like a year in which “absolute truth” was constantly under attack in favor of “relative truth” or a more subjective approach to truth. What did you cling to as your ultimate source of truth in 2020? And how did you deal with the constant barrage of misinformation?

2. As for me, I stopped listening to the mainstream news media sometime during the middle of 2020. My personal experience of mainstream news was that it was biased, toxic, and very divisive. I felt it spent more time “editorializing” and less time “reporting of the facts.” More “trying to sway your opinion” and less “let you digest the facts and make up your own mind.” Instead, I chose to focus on radio stations or podcasts with a positive, Christ-centered, hope-focused message (BOT radio, JOY FM, and a plethora of good podcasts available – Chip Ingram, Dr. David Jeremiah, Jack Graham, Jack Hibbs, Dr Robert Jeffress).

3. For a brief period of time, I actually “checked out” and stopped listening to any and all news sources. But we can’t live like that forever. We can’t isolate ourselves from our culture. We are called to be in the world, just not of the world. We are called to be difference makers in this world and we can’t do it by retreating from the challenges of this world. As Eph 2:10 states, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I believe it’s important to be an informed, educated person, an informed, educated citizen, and an informed, educated Christian so I eventually resumed listening to new sources I felt I could trust. News sources that reported the facts and allowed me to form my own opinion based upon those facts. (ie, www.townhall.com).

4. Lastly, I started reading books in my free time. I’ve always admired people who take time to read books and are intentional about that discipline. So I started that disciple for myself. I also started reading the bible before going to bed. It settles my mind, settles my body and fills my heart and soul with truth before going to bed. It helped me constantly renew my mind in a culture more than happy to challenge and compete for my beliefs. What did you do to stay mentally alert and mentally sharp in 2020? Were you tempted to mentally retreat? Or were you able to thrive during 2020?

3. Emotionally – how did you survive, regress or thrive in 2020?

1. Many of the things I did to preserve my mental health in 2020 also applied to my emotional health in 2020. Practical things like avoiding the constant negative drumbeat of mainstream news media. And using social media in an effort to unite people, not divide them. The same could be said about reading my bible. It provided a steady flow of truth and reassurance that God is still in charge. He is still on the throne and has a plan and purpose for all of this.

2. Plus, having something or someone to look forward to each week was a huge way I stayed emotionally healthy in 2020. For me, running was one of those activities that cut across all categories and provided benefits in the physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual areas of my life. Fortunately, I had my running group to look forward to on a regular basis. I can’t tell you how important it was to not only run on a weekly basis, but to also have my small group of running mates to look forward to and to unpack each week’s highs and lows. It was huge. It was truly one of God’s blessings in my life during 2020.

3. How did you emotionally survive 2020? Did you rely upon friends and family? Your relationship with God? Or some other resource? Or were you caught in the angst and anxiety of 2020? And the very real challenge of being quarantined and isolated from others?

4. Relationally – how did you survive, regress or thrive in 2020?

1. It was a strange year. When the pandemic initially hit and the stay-at-home orders were issued there was a real period of isolation. You could sense it and feel it across the entire country, remember? I believe the only time I truly felt a “spirit of fear” was the first time I visited Walmart after the stay-at-home order had been issued. There I stood with my cart and observed how empty and picked over all the shelves were. It caught me by surprise. I just watched as people quickly navigated up and down the aisle grabbing as much food and supplies as they could possibly pack into their carts. It just felt so surreal. But it was truly happening before my eyes. I could only think of Joshua 1:9 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” And He was. And He is. Fortunately, this didn’t last forever.

2. Zoom was big last year. It was a way to connect with people during those somber times when we were all asked to quarantine ourselves. I remember meeting small groups, friends, family and other "get togethers" on that loyal 15 inch screen on my laptop. It was the only way we could see my mom during the pandemic since she was quarantined in a nursing home. Zoom served a purpose and was a blessing during those first few months of quarantine.

3. But there was no substitute for real people and real interaction. As I mentioned before, I was fortunate to have a running group that I could run with on a regular basis and do life with. My running group was truly a Godsend during 2020 and an example of how running and my running community cut across all categories and provided benefits in the physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual areas of my life.

4. One sweet surprises and unexpected blessings to 2020 was an opportunity to rekindle a friendship with an old friend that I’ve always admired and respected. At the onset of the pandemic when most people were retreating or struggling with how to respond to our current quarantine, my friend immediately sent out a message inviting people to join together at a weekly zoom meeting to tackle this pandemic together. Better together. During the course of the year, amidst all of the trials, challenges and struggles, my friend led, parented, taught, encouraged, ministered, inspired and loved both God and others well. So very well. And reminded me that God is still on His throne and still has a plan and purpose for each one of us – even in the midst of a pandemic. At the end of a crazy year, I can't help but respect, admire and love this bold friend of mine for they way they quietly but faithfully lived their life in 2020. Truly a sweet surprise and blessing in 2020.

5. How did you do relationally in 2020? Were you able to maintain friendships, establish “germ bubbles” and still find ways to connect with people? Did you discover any sweet surprises or unexpected friendships in 2020? Or were you isolated and quarantined most of the year? Not only physically but also relationally?

5. Financially – how did you survive, regress or thrive in 2020?

1. By the grace of God, literally, I was fortunate and able to retain my job and go to work on a daily basis. At the onset of the pandemic, I think the routine drive to work and ability to maintain a portion of my normal schedule helped provide me with a sense of normalcy and push back on the spirit of fear that seemed to blanket our country those first few months. But those were some crazy days early on. I remember driving to work during the first week of the stay-at-home order and the roads were totally desolate. Empty. It was eerie. Like a scene out of a science fiction novel or a modern day apocalyptic movie, there was nobody else out there as far as the eye could see. Just God and me.

2. My heart goes out to those people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. I can’t imagine the pressure and uncertainty this added to their lives. Or to the many parents who had to juggle both working from home while at the same time helping to teach their kids forced to attend school from home. I can’t imagine the stress this must have caused on top of worrying about their own jobs and the threat of the actual virus itself.

3. How did you do financially? Were you able to maintain your job? Stay on top of the bills? Or did you experience financial hardship and still face it today?

6. Spiritually – how did you survive, regress or thrive spiritually in 2020?

1. I experienced both spiritual highs and spiritual lows in 2020. I experienced dark moments where I struggled with things that I haven’t struggled with in years. Plus, I didn’t realize how much my self-identity was wrapped up in “what I did” as opposed to “whose image I was created in”. At the same time, I also experienced close, intimate moments with God, my Papa, unlike few other times in my life. Like the many times I would run solo along the Katy Trail and wrestle with my Papa about everything going on in the world; everything going on in my life; everything going on within me. Those were some holy moments.

2. My experience of church was different in 2020. I attended church services in both St. Charles County and St. Louis County during the pandemic. Part of the difference boiled down to which side of the river you lived on. The other part of the difference boiled down to the unique challenge leaders faced trying to do what was best for their congregation. Some of those responses resonated well with me, others did not. But in the end, the Holy Spirited urged me to “keep my heart & mind open, but my mouth shut.” Probably some of the best wisdom the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart in years. Thank you Jesus!

3. God also reminded me that I’m called to faithfully serve Him regardless of what the circumstances may look like. He reminded me to prayerfully trust the nudges and promptings that He placed on my heart and He would take care of the rest. As such, this year was one of the most amazing years that I’ve experienced serving some of our inner city ministries. God challenged me to invite a host of friends, family, running mates, and Quarterlife students and He would take care of everything else. And that He did. We had believers and skeptics, church goers and non-church goers, young and old, male and female. Even now as I reflect on those trips to Hope House and Bridge of Hope it is truly amazing to recall what God can do when we trust those subtle nudges and promptings that He places on our heart and soul. It reminds me of Gal 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Amen!

4. Lastly, during a year of great racial tension and strife, I was able to develop a friendship with several people who have a different zip code than I do and on the surface don’t necessarily look like me. But if you look a little closer, you’ll see we are much more similar than we are different. We both love and serve the same God, we both love and seek to help the St. Louis community, and we both enjoy friendship and laughter. So if you ever get the chance to drop by Hope House in St. Louis City, ask Tahisha about the “fake squirrel” we put outside of her window. I promise, you will laugh for weeks. We did!

5. How did you do spiritually? Did your grow this year? Did you find yourself leaning into God more this year than in previous years? Experiencing His sweet presence in the midst of 2020’s chaos and struggles? Or did you struggle this year to sense God’s presence in the midst of all of the chaos and struggles?

So where does all this lead? What does all of this mean? Well, that’s kind of up to you and me, isn’t it? For me, this is just one man’s reflection on 2020 and all the blessings that I received and all of the things I truly have to be grateful for. Has 2020 seen its fair share of hardships, challenges and even death? Yes. And if that is you, I don’t want to diminish nor pretend that am I am able to fully appreciate nor understand all of your struggles. But my heart, soul, and prayers do sincerely go out to you.

Here is what I do know - 2020 proved to me that God’s not finished with me. He’s not finished with you, either. He has a plan and purpose for each of us. At the end of 2020, God nudged me to launch a website to offer free photography services in exchange for donations to local ministries. He has also nudged me to explore other creative ways that I can serve Him. He has inspired me to be more creative, take risks, step outside of my comfort zone, don’t let the walls of any building or structure limit my efforts to serve Him, trust the subtle promptings that He places on my heart, and don’t worry about failure or success – just follow Him.

Here is my final question for you, “Where is God calling you in 2021?” “What is your plan and purpose in 2021?” One of the last things Jesus tells Peter after reinstating him is “Follow Me!”(John 21:19) I believe Jesus is calling each one of us to “Follow Him”. I believe God truly does have a plan and purpose for each one of us. If you’re not sure what that means or how it applies to you, please feel free to reach out to me. Or if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at therobertharrison@gmail.com.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my thoughts. I know your time is valuable and I appreciate you spending part of it with me. If I can serve you in any way, please feel free to contact me. Remember, I love you but the God who created you loves you far more than I or anyone else can describe. Just ask Him!