With 2020 in our rearview mirror, most of us are hoping for a new year that looks nothing like the old year. As we struggled through past 10 months of pandemic, with one hit after another leaving us hanging on the ropes now and then, we set our eyes on the day when the clock would strike midnight, the calendar would flip, and we would have the chance to level the playing field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
It would be nice if calendar years worked like that, neatly packing away all the previous troubles at midnight and clearing the slate so we can start fresh. Every new year\u2014with resolutions and diet plans, vision boards and health club memberships\u2014we convince ourselves that this is the case. But we know from experience that rather than a magical transformation, it\u2019s more likely we\u2019ll get to February, look out at our lives and think, \u201cMeet the new year, same as the old year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know, I know. Why am I being so depressing when we\u2019re still fresh with new hope for better things? We have a vaccine making the rounds, promising an end to the pandemic. We have a peaceful transition of power in the offing, reminding us that our democracy remains strong. Why focus on the negative? Because it\u2019s not the negative at all. It\u2019s just life as broken-but-beautiful human beings living in a broken-but-beautiful world. A change in one digit in our datebooks can\u2019t change the trajectory of our year or our lives, but there are things we can do to make some magic happen, and the good news is that, in a world where we can\u2019t control much, this is something we can, in fact, control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is this secret weapon? As Glinda the Good Witch told Dorothy at the end of a difficult journey through Oz: \u201cYou\u2019ve always had the power, my dear. You\u2019ve had it all along.\u201d The same is true for the rest of us, and if 2020 has taught us anything, it\u2019s that we are far stronger and more resilient than we ever imagined. But that kind of power isn\u2019t created by us or sustained by us. We get it through our connection to God, and we strengthen it through our connection to\u2014and compassion for\u2014others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the pandemic, I kept seeing the same quote (attributed to author Damian Barr) surfacing in different forms on social media: \u201cWe are not all in the same boat. We are all in the same storm. Some are on super-yachts. Some have just the one oar.\u201d The quote was followed by a reminder to be kind, stop judging, and support one another. If you remember your Wizard of Oz history, you\u2019ll note that this method is exactly how Dorothy finally discovered her own power. She found her tribe and she loved them, sacrificed for them, advocated for them, until all were safe and sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turns out the lessons Dorothy learned in Oz are not that far off from those we\u2019ve learned throughout our lives as Christians: take care of your neighbors, love one another, re-prioritize your life so the things that really matter\u2014God, family, friendship, community\u2014rise above the more superficial goals that may have topped our list of resolutions just one year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we venture forward into the unknown of 2021, we can do so in fear, because of what we witnessed these past 12 months, or we can do so in hope, because of what we know we can accomplish when we put our faith in God and band together with our brothers and sisters. We don\u2019t need a resolution or even a calendar to do that. All we need is the ability to step outside our own wants and needs to glimpse the boats in the storm around us, and maybe help someone with only one oar get safely to shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n