Taking Inventory 2020
Inside: Taking Inventory 2020 looks a little different this year. Check out my review of this year.
Taking Inventory 2020
What can I add to this year? Perhaps a story. . .
About halfway through 2020, I remember walking home from the farm, and as I headed down the short path to my door, I prayed. “Lord, this is an awful year,” I said. I’d been feeling discouraged and somewhat fearful.
Just that quick I heard that still small voice of God say, “Don’t say that it’s a bad year.”
Now, some of you reading this will understand, and some of you won’t. Words are of particular importance to me, and I believe in the power of what you say and think, so I am very careful in this regard. So when the Creator of the universe says to not say something, I listen.
Except for that one instance, I have not said it’s a bad year. Not that I haven’t wanted to–a lot at times. But I didn’t want to own that. In fact, back in March when little was known about Covid and folks were stocking up for two weeks and even a month, I said this prayer: “Lord, I want my life to be as normal as possible.”
Want to know the strange part? It has been.
I work from home, anyway, and routinely I leave the farm about once or twice a week on errands. Aside from buying two week’s worth of some things that first week, we didn’t stock up after that. We resisted the great toilet paper wars of spring, and I shopped no differently than usual. When faced with a temptation to stock up in meat or other items, I didn’t. My thought was that someone else might need those things, and God had reassured me I would find everything I wanted when I needed it.
And I did!
The Questions
No end of year review would be complete without the annual contemplative questions. Note, just answering the first two can tell you a great deal about your year, but I like this slate of ten questions I’ve put together. Here are my answers.
1. What worked?
Prayer. So often negative emotions fell by the wayside while praying and walking.
Optimism. Yes, optimism.
Gratefulness.
Grace. Bucket loads of it, extended to myself and others.
Pressing the pause button on work commitments and taking time off during Mike’s vacation weeks. Normally I work through parts of his time off. Not this year!
Watching classic sitcoms–my guilty pleasure this year has been Magnum, P. I.
2. What didn’t work?
Listening to rumors. So many news items put out there turned out to be false. (And still are, unfortunately.)
Expecting myself to act normally–get as much accomplished. (This is where the grace part came in.)
3. What surprised you? (Whether good or bad.)
So I imagine most everyone would say “pandemic.” And while that would be the first thing, and it’s been discussed ad nauseum, let me mention what surprised me most after that. After decades of shopping in one place, we’ve now started going to another nearby town. That might not sound like an odd “surprise,” but it has been. I tend to be such a creature of habit, and where I shop locally is important to me.
4. What disappointed you?
If I’m being honest, the bad behavior of some people in this country and those who egged them on.
5. What were you most proud of?
How far I’ve come in not letting perfectionism rule my every response. I noticed this especially when I was cleaning the house for Christmas. It was freeing to not feel bad because I couldn’t make everything as nice as I would have liked. Growing in the area of prioritizing what means the most, I guess you could say.
6. What gave you the most joy?
A summer visit with my brothers, sisters-in-law, and nieces and nephews. Hanging out with Mom. A day trip with Mike to Hannibal, MO. Growing flowers. Christmas Eve traditions and stories this year.
7. What drained you?
Worry, at times, and, really, the emotional toll of this year which often manifested itself as fatigue.
8. What wasted your time?
Worry. Comparing myself to others’ imaginary accomplishments listswhich, at the end of the year, were mostly less populated than mine. (We share our accomplishments in my writer’s critique group at the end of every year.)
9. Who did you enjoy spending time (or connecting) with?
Mike, Mom, Emily, and Jared. My hairdresser Kaitlyn. I love the critique group my sister-in-law Karisa and I started! My regular critique group. Phone conversations with my friend Patty.
10. What gave you the most peace?
Quiet times with God. As the year progressed, knowing like the sun comes up that everything is going to be okay, and God has a marvelous plan in store! (Yes, I really believe that!)
A ‘Simple’ Word
My word for the year was spot on. Going into 2020, I thought, I’m already there. Maybe God’s choice for my word means me learning even more about living a simple life.
No, that wasn’t it. . .
Because of the challenge of just living with day-to-day change and not being able to plan much ahead and waiting, waiting, waiting, I found it hard to focus. This is another area where grace came in. Many days, if I accomplished just one thing, I counted it as success. Simple became the way to approach my days. Letting things go “just this year” was a way to cope with the disappointment of not doing some of the things we do in a typical year. Simple was the way I conducted my life, paring it down to what was most important. Being okay with that.
Simple was simply the perfect choice for 2020.
What is my word for 2021? I have no idea. Word of my word hasn’t arrived yet. (Pun intended.) You’ll be the first to know when it does.
Farewell, 2020!
Resources and related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 12: Moved into the Neighborhood
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
John 1:14 The Message Translation
Aren’t you glad He did?
Merry Christmas
and a prosperous New Year!
A Rural Girl Writes
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 11: What I Want Most for Christmas
Inside: While it might be a little late to put in my request, here’s what I want most for Christmas this year.
What I Want Most for Christmas
The other day Mom and I were headed out to go shopping. As we pulled up to our first stop, I opened my purse to look inside and discovered I’d left home without my wallet.
“I can’t believe I did that,” I said, referring to my forgetfulness.
“There’s a reason we’ve been diverted today,” she said.
We decided to head home by way of a route which would take us by the gas station so she could get gas. After she filled the tank, she walked into the convenience store, and I sat alone with my thoughts, watching the people around me. A forty-something man stood at the door of the store, holding it open for the longest time. I looked further out into the parking area and noticed an elderly man shuffling slowly toward the building. The man holding the door waited patiently, exchanging pleasantries with the elderly man as he entered. A few minutes later, it was the elderly man leaving, holding the door for someone heading for the entrance. “Come on in,” he said cheerfully, smiling.
And they weren’t alone. People continued to open doors, exchange greetings, and it moved me.
“This is who we are,” I said to myself. “This is what Americans do.”
I’ve been doing some thinking on this, why that simple little scene brought tears to my eyes. And I have come to realize what I want most this Christmas.
Goodwill.
That’s right. Like angel tidings and Christmas songs.
Goodwill.
You know, friendly disposition. Benevolence. Kindness.
Sure, peace on earth would be great–not to sound like a beauty queen on the pageant circuit. But in practical terms, peace has got to start somewhere. Goodwill is a place to start.
Being kind goes a long way these days. Particularly in a year when we’ve seen the worst of people. What I long for most is to see the best of us. Good deeds, yes, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Friendly greetings, smiles, and lots and lots of opening doors. Being decent to one another. Really caring for other people, even those difficult to love.
Goodwill.
That’s what I want most this Christmas.
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 10: Jute Basket Ornament
Inside: This Jute Basket Ornament is the cutest thing. A fun project with the kids, you can make this ornament in a couple of hours.
Jute Basket Ornament
Looking for a cute little project you can make in an evening? Maybe something to occupy the kids for a while? This ornament is easy to put together with items you likely have on hand. And with Christmas just a day and a night away, time is of the essence. Let’s get to it, shall we?
You Will Need:
- glue gun with glue sticks
- thick jute cord (4 ply)
- red buffalo check material, 3 inch x 3.5 inch
- thin red ribbon, 22 inches
- a small pine cone
Making the Basket
Hot glue the jute together to form a coil. This will be the bottom of the basket. You want to go around five times.
Once you get to the side of the coil where you started, you want to begin gluing the jute, strand by strand, on top of each other to form the side of the basket. You want to go five times around and stop, tucking the end inside the basket.
Cut a piece of jute, approximately 5 inches to make the handle and glue into place.
Fold the material in half and glue it to make a rectangle 1.5 inches x 3.5 inches. Tuck the blanket inside the basket so the ends hang out on either side of the handle. Glue the ends of the material to the outside of the basket so it stays in place.
Glue pine cone into the basket and on top of the cloth.
Cut the red ribbon into two pieces of 7 inches and15 inches. Using the 15 inches, tie a bow and glue it into place on the top of the basket. (Refer to the picture.) Make a loop with the 7-inch piece and glue it on the back side of the handle and attach a hanger.
Hang the basket on the nearest tree and stand back to admire your cute little work of art!