These little magnets hang on my refrigerator. One holds a picture of my fam jam from Sara Bibi's wedding. The other stands alone. I see them Every. Single. Day. They are a reminder to take the bumps in the road of life lightly, and to always have humor during the rough stuff. 2020 has already provided a ridiculous amount of opportunities for growth, and it's not over yet!
If you haven't experienced any stress from the current year, congratulations! You're a unicorn. I remember the anxiety leading up to the year 2000. What would happen? Would all of the computer systems crash? Would society break down? Would there be a world-wide blackout? Prince's song couldn't take the fear away, no matter how big we partied in 1999. Preppers went into full blown survival mode getting ready for Y2K. Businesses spent time and money reprogramming computers to recognize years by four digits. Then we waited. When January 1st rolled around, we all breathed a sigh of relief because nothing really happened to change our everyday lives. However, we had no idea that 2020 was going to be such a doozie!
I'm not going to recap all the insanity of this year, there are plenty of memes/posts that you can read for that. I am going to let you know that I'm a firm believer in a God that is still on His Throne, and He's got this. Our world is in a state of craziness that feels like a circus, but He told us it would be. I recently did an old study on Revelation. It chronicles the things to come, and let me tell you...... this is nothing! If you've never opened that book, I suggest Beth Moore's study to guide you along. She breaks it down in bite sized pieces and explains everything from the original language. It's scarier than any horror movie and definitely more tragic than 2020 could ever hope to be, but there's a happy ending. Jesus wins.
So if your life resembles Barnum and Bailey, don't fret! Stay real. Be kind. Love others. The storm will pass and hopefully you will have learned something along the way. I've learned to take one day at a time. I've learned to stop overplanning. I've learned to simplify my life and spend more time with my fam jam. I've learned a new business. Even in 2020, there has been growth and joy.
The upcoming elections will be our chance to be a peacemaker or a troublemaker. I'm fully aware that folks I know will throw insults at each other simply because they don't agree. I've already seen it happen, and it hurts my heart. Let's commit to keeping the peace, even if we disagree. Being real doesn't mean hurting others to try and make them think like you do. You can share your opinion without resorting to name calling. I've found that most folks stop listening at the first sign of hostility anyway, so you're wasting your breath. As my grandma used to say, "you catch more flies with honey."
Stay real, my wonderful weirdos! May you find the joy in the circus.
