For all of us, 2020 will go down as the year of COVID. Memories of people stocking up on toilet paper, empty shelves at the grocery store, and masks becoming a regular necessity, are now forever a part of our story. The pandemic has been the overarching atmosphere in which we’ve seen people band together and fall a part over issues such as racism, health care, politics, conspiracy theories, and even restrictions over COVID itself.

The pandemic has been the overarching atmosphere in which we’ve seen people band together and fall a part…

Yet in the midst of all the heaviness, there have also been moments that have brought us levity. This was also the year of whipped coffee, bread making, and John Krasinski’s Good News Show. Pet adoptions soared. Zoom became a household name, and memes of “what not to do on zoom” followed. And with millions working from home, many of our men are still sporting a “COVID beard.”

It’s been an incredibly hard and wild year.

There are losses we have yet to count, and others we will feel for years to come. Not only that, but even when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s, we know we won’t be out of the woods yet. This journey through the pandemic will continue, and so will we. 

We aren’t coming away from this year as empty-handed as we feel.

For this reason, I think it’s important for us to take a moment and name how we’ve grown this year. To share what we’ve learned, so that we may see we aren’t coming away from this year as empty-handed as we feel. Today, I am sharing a few things I’ve learned in 2020—some serious, some a little fun. And, if you have a moment, I’d love it if you’d take some time to think about what you’ve learned this year too. If you’re willing, maybe even share one thing you learned in the comments below?

Sometimes, four-letter words really are the only ones we can say.

In January, we discovered three tumors are growing in my dad’s brain. The only word that came to my mind when I found out was sh*t. It’s extremely painful watching someone you love so much go through cancer. It’s even worse when you can’t be with them as much as you’d like to, because of a pandemic. (for more on this see this post). 

God’s Peace can surprise you.

We began our house search in January. At that time it was a sellers’ market—meaning houses were getting offers the instant they became available. As first time home buyers this was very stressful. We felt like we were going to have to move really fast on a house we weren’t sure about. Then, quarantine hit and everything shut down. Only, instead of feeling more stressed about our search, I suddenly felt this incredible peace from God that He had it all under control. This peace stayed with me throughout all of quarantine. And two days after the restrictions for viewing houses lifted, we found our house.

Squirrels are hard to get rid of—especially in the city.

A month after we moved into our new house, we discovered a family of squirrels were living in the crawl space of our attic. Thankfully, a friend came and got the family out, and patched the hole where they were coming in. But now, two of them come and hide out in the awning of our back porch every time there is bad weather and stare at us through our window as if to say, “You took our home.”

The best grapes are the ones who’ve experienced struggle and difficulty.

When numbers were low, we went to the Finger Lakes with our best friends for some time away and a few socially distanced wine tastings. At one of the tastings, we learned a lot about how grapes grow. Did you know that in perfect conditions, vines won’t even grow grapes? It’s when they struggle most that they yield the best fruit. That felt like a hopeful metaphor for all of us facing this difficult year. It also made me wonder what good fruit might come out of all this hardship. 

Putting Kindle on my phone helps me read more.

This has been a revelation for me toward the end of this year. Now I have a book to read on my phone wherever I go—which means if I have down time I can read a book instead of scrolling my socials. Reading fills my mind and soul in a way social media never will.

Getting outside is so good for our minds, bodies, and souls.

Ok, I knew this. We all know this. But in the middle of our first round of quarantine, Tony and I started hiking everyday at a state park nearby, and it was so life giving. All the anxiety over what we didn’t know about COVID, the loneliness of not being able to see friends or family, and the tension being in our small apartment all the time—was diffused by exercise, sunlight, and fresh air. We got away from that practice once we moved, but hope to take more walks in the city this winter.

What have you learned in 2020?

What will you remember most about this year?

Trying to figure out how to enter a new year in the midst of a pandemic? Sign up for my email list today, and be among the first to receive my Start Here 2021—a guide to help us show up in the New Year—when it releases at the start of the year. In the meantime, you’ll also get a bonus resource: Six Ways to Find Focus in a Pandemic. Sign up here.