Forward Friday… A New Year’s Contemplation… It’s More About What Was Born Than What Was Buried/Died…

As I sat watching the Christmas tree Christmas night, long after the last mouthful of food was eaten, the last present opened, the last story told, I got to thinking about this past year.

Man, this year started with a bang and then…….. Life got spun up and then like a rollercoaster, went wild as we globally have had to deal with this virus that turned into a pandemic.

For many of us, we have been frustrated, fearful, upset, scared, angry, jaded, jittery, confused skeptical, sad, disillusioned and more.

From the loss of closeness with friends and family, the loss of loved ones and friends no matter the cause during this time, it’s not been easy to say the least.

No matter where you side on this matter of what has happened, believing everything we’ve been told, highly skeptical of the motivations and announcements regarding this pandemic, it has been a difficult season to live in many senses.

As I sat gazing at the tree, it occurred to me again that I could look at the things this past year that I would consider things that were buried or lost or, I could look at the thing(s) that were born out of this year.

I could look at the thing(s) that were born out of this year.

Depending on how we view things really dictate a lot of our how our emotions, our forward direction, our thought progressions will lead us.

Make no mistake about it; there are many things that have frustrated me like so many.

The simple things like not being able to sit in a coffee shop to chat…

Going to a restaurant; any restaurant to eat and sit down….

Playing hockey or going to watch a sporting event….

Having a get together with friends/family with more than a few… to name a few……………

Crossing the border for an afternoon drive……..

Not being able to come along side those in mourning as in normal times when there has been the loss of a loved one…..

And that list can go on….

But is there anything that was born out of this year that we can take into 2021 that gives us some hope, any hope at all?

I think if we consider the past twelve months, if we looked beneath the surface, past the things we would considered buried, I think we could find something, one thing that was good for us….

So I’ll start.

There are 3 things that stood out to me as I sat in the living room in the quietness of the evening looking at the pretty lights and ornaments shimmering as the clock ticked into a new morning.

My Relationship With Kelly Grew.

It’s one thing that we would intentionally want to spend almost every waking moment with our significant other or family but it can be quite another when we are forced to do it.

In our case, it’s been a profoundly rewarding, gratifying, fun and exciting time. We’ve always had a good time spending time together but I have come to appreciate and honor the person that she is through this season more than ever.

I know many cannot say that as there have been splits and separations, divorce which is sad and unfortunate but we have not only weathered through this but it has become even better and I am grateful.

Here's A Little Video Clip From Our Christmas Greeting....

Friends

There is a verse that says, two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

I can truly say that even through this crazy season, it has been made much easier because of some of the incredible friends I’m blessed to call friends

From an early March trip to Florida, to visits to friends doing drive-bys (who thought that would be okay to say in today’s lexicon of words), BBQ’s, coffee talks, phone calls, suppers, texts etc., I have realized that we need to be reminded that many times, we forget that we have much in our hands and more than we many times think because we lament over what we don’t have or are missing.

Please don’t get me wrong; I think that this time has shown that while we have a virus that we are dealing with, there have been many moments of overreach that has caused so much collateral damage for many in different ways that those ramifications will be felt for a long time to come.

We are not blind to it but in the next breath, we also see that we have had and have the blessing of friends that help walking this road of life a lot more palatable.

God’s Fingerprints Are On Everything.

A Rabbi once said that everything that God has created is potentially holy and our task as humans is to find that holiness in what appear to be unholy situations.

He reasons that if and when we can learn to do this, we will have learned to nurture our souls.

It’s easy to see God’s beauty in a sunset or sunrise, a snow scaped winter scene, the smile of a healthy child or family member, the power of the waves of an ocean but can we learn to find the holiness in the unending wave of a virus? Ugly circumstances, the hard life lessons, family loss or tragedy, the struggles of life?

I know that this year has been difficult for most if not all of us, our family included but I have seen the wonders of the fingerprints of God in our lives where it didn’t seem to make sense and work some blessings and miracles out that wouldn’t have seemed possible months earlier.

Things that wouldn’t have made sense on the one hand at one point but are working in our favor now.

Maybe our lives need to be filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday things and maybe just maybe, we might have our outlook change regarding many things we walk through and face in our lives.

Maybe A Feeling Of Peace Could Start To Emerge.

If we can remember that everything has God’s fingerprints on it, we begin to see more things as special.

Maybe it can help us when we are dealing with a difficult person, struggling to pay our bills, it could help us broaden our perspective.

We still are going through whatever It is but our perspective widens or broadens.

I know for me, it helps me realize that in spite of the struggles I have faced, I am truly blessed to have all that I do.

So as I look into the future and 2021 looms in front of me, I do not know the twists on the road to come, but I am remembering that everything has God’s fingerprints on it.

Sometimes, we think there is no beauty if we don’t see it but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Maybe we need to be looking for what is born or being born instead of only looking at the past and what was buried.

Okay, So What Do We Do?

It seems as though our wiring wants to look negative first as a default but the fingerprints of God say that my perspective and insight can grow if I can see what is being born, what will be born because understanding that life is reciprocal, it is not only what has been buried that only counts but what is being born.

I am glad and grateful for this past year because there were enough “Born” moments to outweigh the “Buried” ones even if they seemed less in number but so highly favorable to me in “Value”!

I think it is important to say that for those of us who have experienced painful loss, my heart aches for you as I know what it is to lose loved ones, the loss of a job, loss of relationship, mental anguish to name a few.

These and so much more are no easy moment(s) to walk through; yet somehow we must believe, trust and hope that we will, with Divine help get through it. There is no way around some of life's twists, turns and tumbles but we can trust that somehow, we will get through it.

My friend said something yesterday that made sense in this regard and it was: "Just as we will not always have mountain top experiences, We also will not always have the valley moments either."

And I choose to believe that the fingerprints of God in my/our lives can turn Graves into Gardens!

Happy New Year and I hope and pray that we look for and see the fingerprints of God in ways we wouldn’t have in the past in 2021!

Dave

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