Goodbye, 2020

12.28.2020

 

Whatever hard or sad things 2020 might have brought us, I can never be too mad at this year, because we spent most of it with baby F. He was born at the end of February, just a few weeks before everything shut down, and his little life has been such a sweet blessing. I'm absolutely astonished that he will be one year old in less then 2 months.

He's sitting up, crawling, rolling, and wanting so badly to be a big kid and play with his brother and sister. He is so agreeable, silly, and a joy to have around.

It's been a really hard year, to put it simply. But it's also been a year so full of blessings. I realized how many things I took for granted, how much I like my normal life and my normal routine. I'm thankful for our home and our jobs and our family.

I've unofficially made Romans 8:1 my motto for this year. The Risen Motherhood podcast had an episode back in April featuring John Piper talking about Romans 8 (here). He read the full chapter and offered a short sermon on why it's his favorite in the Bible. I saved it and have listened to it several times since, along with memorizing the beginning of the chapter.

"There is therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Maybe one day I'll sit down and write out all that this verse has come to mean to me this year. The truth is that I've tried my best to be a good mom, a good wife, a good employee, a good sister, daughter, friend, and citizen. I try, and generally speaking I am all those things, but I'm just so thankful that because I know Jesus, I don't have to be all of that on my own. And when I fail, because I do fail every day, there is no condemnation, no shame or guilt. Just grace. Hope. Peace. A new mercy every morning, as it says in Lamentations. I can't tell you how much that's encouraged me this year, especially as a mom.

I hope you have a great start to 2021. I'm holding the year loosely, but I'm hopeful. I don't normally make a long list of resolutions, but I do have a few things I'm looking forward to. Pandemic or not, I had a baby this year and didn't plan on doing much else anyway, but I'm as sad as I feel that F is going to be turning 1 in a few weeks, I will also say that I'm a bit eager to leave the newborn stage behind (for now, at least).

This blog took a major hit this year, obviously, but I'm not ready to call it quits completely. I might pop back on and share some goals for the year and our 2020 in Numbers. Until then, a friendly "hello" to anyone reading. Very happy new year to you!

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