It’s been a rough year, but we’ve learned a few lessons from 2020
If 2020 were a movie, the storylines would make your head spin. Murder hornets, politics, pandemic, quarantine, racial unrest, job loss, Zoom, economic roller coaster, working and learning from home, professional from the waist up and more.
Add in the crazy and unpredictable twists, turns, drama, pain, loss and even unexpected joy, and you have quite the drama-sci-fi-action-thriller-documentary.
Thank goodness 2020 is almost in the rearview mirror. Goodbye and good riddance! It’s pretty unlikely anybody will be sad to see it go. But, like a lot of other experiences in life, while nobody would wish to go through some of the things 2020 brought us, there might be a few folks who would not trade the lessons they learned about things we often taken for granted like:
› The value of spending time with people we love and care about face-to-face (not over Zoom or FaceTime).
› The privilege of being by someone’s bedside when they’re sick.
› Your presence at your family member or friend’s wedding.
› Actually getting to go to work.
› Going out to dinner and a movie.
› Being live and in person at a sporting event.
› Attending a faith-based service.
› Throwing a party for friends.
› Being able to attend the funeral of a loved one.
› Children being able to go to school and the teachers who pour into them.
› The amazing truckers, first responders, grocery store workers, team members in the food processing industry.
› Just being able to go outside and be around others.
We could add way more to this list. The point is, major disruption offers the opportunity for growth. Even when things normalize a bit, hopefully we won’t forget that all the things we thought were just a way of life aren’t necessarily so.
Life can change in an instant. The things we thought were so important took a back seat to caring for our existing relationships and the importance of building new ones with people who are different from ourselves. The pandemic actually showed what can happen when we all come together to help meet the needs of others.
There were monumental accomplishments like individuals figuring out how to help farmers get food from their fields and into the hands of hungry people. Right in the middle of the quarantine, people helped those who lost their homes in the tornadoes. People logistically figured out how to host drive-in concerts and worship services. We celebrated milestones through technology, driveby parades and window visitation at nursing homes. In so many instances people said for years, “We could never do that,” or “That would never work.” The pandemic actually helped us see we could make it work, and it is highly likely we will not return to the way things were before. Maybe the pandemic helped discover a better way forward. Wouldn’t that be a shocker?!
Speaking of moving forward and embracing change, this will be my last column here as I seek to help strengthen marriages across the globe in my new role at the WinShape Foundation. Over the last 21 years, it has been an incredible privilege to journey with you through life. Hopefully, the research and insights I have shared helped all of us build strong relationships in every season and get through tough times like 2020 together.
Mitchell Qualls, operations director for First Things First, will step in to continue bringing you relevant andre lat able family strengthening information. Mitchell is very passionate about helping people strengthen their relationships, through writing content and facilitating events (when we are able to do that again).
Mitchell married his high school sweetheart, Dalet, in 2004, and together they have two children, Yadi and Bella. Mitchell is an avid baseball fan and loves running and hiking with his family.
Wishing you all the best in 2021!