Hold Fast, 2021.

“Embrace,” my resolution word for 2020, looked nothing like I expected. I doubt I’m alone in that, whether you had a resolution or a word or any expectations at all for the 365.25 days of madness we just collectively experienced. I was excited and ambitious to embrace change and joy and celebration throughout the entire year. Like so many others, I had no idea that instead I would be stretched to embrace heartbreak and isolation and a looming anxiety about what to do and how to do it safely. With that in mind, I began searching my soul as well as my dictionary/thesaurus for a fitting word for this year’s resolution. Recuperate? Recover? Refresh? Redeem? Rescue? I’m not sure why I was stuck on “r” words, but they all seemed a little strong and a little too stuck in 2020.

Then one night after postponing our fourth wedding celebration attempt, canceling our second honeymoon attempt, Katie working virtually, and my work mostly holed up in my windowless office, I found myself squeezing my beautifully wife tightly in the middle of the night. Everything has twisted and flipped and flat out disappeared. But she’s still here. Everything is slow and charged and distanced. But I am still here. Everything feels broken and disappointing and frustrated. But God’s still here, somewhere. So I need (for my own sanity) to hold on and hold fast.

Hold fast to truth.
Hold fast to joy.
Hold fast to love.
Hold fast to faith.
Hold fast to health.
Hold fast to calling.
Hold fast to gratitude.
Hold fast to goodness.
Hold fast to hope.

Though 12:01am January 1, 2021 did not automatically validate, negate, or overcome what 2020 brought to us, I do believe it was a necessary reminder. We have more hope than we thought. We have more power than we thought. And we have more love than we thought. Therefore, we also have more dreaming to do, more responsibility to own, and more kindness to share. May we be so bold as to hold fast to these good things and so much more, loving God and loving one another, in 2021 and in years to come.