What We Gained in 2020

 

In a previous post I discussed some of the losses we had during this last year.  For some perspective, let's take a look at what we might have learned or gained from our experiences this last year.

• Gain of more family time.  Our family has a phrase "Forced Family Time" or FFT, and it is now really that.  
• Gain of an appreciation for the freedom of assembly and worship.  We miss the physical gathering together and personal contact.
• Gain of time for spiritual reflection and connection.  In times of crisis, many people turn to God and His people for comfort and support, as they realize their own failings and limitations.  Christianity never was meant to be for the Lone Ranger, but rather it is a community of believers who have  love (ἀγάπη, agapē) for each other.  
• Gain of opportunities to serve others.  No matter who you are, there most likely are others that you can reach out to.  We can lend a hand up, or give a shoulder (virtual or not) to cry on.  
• Gain of more free time to work on projects.  Fewer excuses to Get-R-Done.
• Gain of more reading and learning time.  Time to learn and grow.  Time to get lost into both old and new books.
• Gain of remote connections.  Communicating through Zoom, MS Teams , or others to maintain social and professional contact.
• Gain of perspective on what is really important.  The important things of life are not material.  Rather they are spiritual and relational.
• Gain of confidence.  We found that we can survive, through the help of God and others.  We learned that it is okay to depend on others and to be a lifeline for those that need it.
• Gain of solidarity.  The knowledge of who will stand by you when things get tough, and who won't, is enlightening.  We found out who was willing to do the right things, instead of the expedient ones.  We saw who was willing to deny or condone corruption to gain power and control.
• Gain of creativity motivation.  They say "necessity is the mother of invention."  Well, we saw some creative ways to deal with challenges.  And we saw some ridiculous solutions too.
• Gain of laughter.  We saw people responding to challenges in interesting and creative ways that were often "too" out of the box.
• Gain of alternative news and social media platforms.  We now have sources that don't censor or "fact check" information like Facebook,  Twitter, and the main stream media.  Parler, MeWe, Gab, NewsMax, BlazeTV, DailyWire, and others provide options for those fed up with the outright bias and social engineering of these other platforms.
• Gain of worldview differentiation.  We clearly observed the differences between the worldviews and methods of liberals vs. conservatives.  We witnessed riots vs. peaceful protests.  We saw obvious fraud and illegal stacking the deck in elections vs. legally challenging suspect and invalid election results.  Some supported ensuring illegal votes to be counted from ineligible voters, mailing ballots out indiscriminately, and intentionally hiding vote counting processes -- thereby enabling fraud.  Others worked to prevent corruption in elections and to prevent it in future ones.  One side embraces Machiavellian ethics, where the ends justify the means, while the other side wants integrity and accountability, where only legitimate votes count.
• Gain of lowered expenses due to lower auto use.  Less commute and travel for some.  But more local exploring and adventures.
• Gain of more time from reduced commute to work.  Now it is just walking into my office with my coffee.  Though I do miss my drive-time musings, talk shows, and podcasts.
• Gain of appreciation for a full pantry and toilet paper stock.  It was amazing to see runs on grocery supplies and transient shortages of basics.
• Gain of time to catch up on streaming services.  Binging Netflix, or catching up on our favorite shows, provided some escape.  It was great to have both the Mandalorian and Star Trek Discovery pay nostalgic homage to the original movies and series.
• Gain of a Civil War victory.  OSU over U of O.  Go Beavs!
• Gain of astronomical treats.  We got a rare conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn to form a "Christmas Star" on the 2020 Winter Solstice.  Don't forget the Comet NEOWISE also.
• Gain of gratitude for the miracles of modern medicine and science.  Thankfulness for a rapid development of treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.  Blessed for skilled doctors that served our family this year and gave us all more time together.

As we leave 2020 behind and move to 2021, I pray that we can soberly mourn what we lost, and embrace and rejoice in what we gained.