Looking Back at 2020

As I write the last blog of 2020, I am forced to look back upon the year with a sigh of relief. We can all agree that we went into 2020 with great expectations and big visions. It may not have gone according to plan. Nobody really expected a worldwide virus and pandemic to interrupt the entire globe all at once. Nothing as such has shut down the world like this before (that we know of anyway). In times like these, it is easy to wonder why certain things happen the way they do. It is even easier to get frustrated when we are not in control of all our plans. Proverbs 3:5-6 says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” While this is easier said than done, it definitely kept our feet grounded while nothing else seemed to make much sense this year.

One thing I am grateful for that 2020 taught me is that we must seek God in every opportunity – the highs and lows, there is a lesson to be learned, a blessing in disguise, and more than anything, that a dream is to be realized. I personally experienced a lot of firsts this year (not the exciting kind). I rode in an ambulance for the first time in my life – I was being transported from one ER to another. In 2020, I also experienced a lot of firsts that I never thought I would have to experience in my lifetime. In addition, I was told “no” by doctors often, and highly discouraged. There was a point in June where things were so bad that all I heard was “no, get used to this new way of life, and forget the old dreams and try to move on…”

It was hard to hear it, harder to accept it, and I thought, why am I having to believe in what the doctors say if God is the one who gave me the desires in my heart? I thought to myself, I will believe in God’s promises over me rather than what the doctors are telling me. It felt odd, and it was definitely strange because I was alone in this and acting like a total fool! I refused to believe and held on to my dream. The dream in me that I have yet to attain but I believe will come into fruition – the thing in each of us that makes life worth living! I just lived a double-life until my healing began to take effect. It did not happen overnight but it did happen! I battled life and death and made it out of the hospital alive – it is and was an absolute miracle. The transport lady who brought me into the hospital was shocked at my recovery when I did not need her help to be carried out. That is the kind of Healer we have.

Sometimes, it is not the blessing we need to look forward to, the promise unattained means that the story is not over, but the process was necessary. For some of us 2020 was necessary for the promise to be fulfilled and not forgotten. I am now more aware of the reality of what 2021 hold for us than ever before. I am in more expectation of what 2021 has to offer than 2020. I believe 2020 was preparing us, awakening us, encouraging us, even refining us to pursue the dreams we would otherwise have let die. Our dreams that God put in us are what He wants to achieve through us. It is important to Him, as well. He is invested in the promises He makes to us – just look at Abraham’s life. God is known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why? This legacy is proof of the Promise and hence, the Promise-Maker.

People will have opinions, suggestions, and all kinds of theories that may or may not align with your situation. Do not let that hinder the plans God has over your life if your vision is clear. You need people that support you, want what is best for you, and who stand with you in prayer without judgment. That is where fellowship is realized in the body of Christ as wholesome and beneficial. I hope that those who read this will not let your dreams to be challenged or shattered by those who simply do not believe with you.

Psalm 37:4 states to “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This is because I believe He put those desires and dreams inside of us in the first place. As a father delights in giving his kids good gifts, God enjoys blessing us. 2020 may have discouraged us, interrupted our lives, slowly killed our dreams, and we may have allowed the mess of it all to take away the passion that once stirred inside of us. Dare I say to bring your dreams back to the feet of Jesus and bring it into life in 2021. Let us chase our dreams with expectation that it will be a blessing both to us and others.