A Reflection of 2020

REVEALING OUR TRUE SELVES

-By Qwinita Bell

Reflecting back on 2020 I can see how these words still apply. There have been pandemics before, but this is the first one I’ve lived in. I am a retiree and by nature a loner, so this past year has not put as much undue hardship on me as it probably has on others. 2020 came in with what appeared to be a promising start with no clue as to what lay ahead. It seemed like overnight the light beam of COVID and revealed what the true and ugly state of things really were. Where it seemed America was the “dream” to be sought, the light of COVID quickly highlighted the blight the country tried to hide. All the “ism’s” came tumbling out of the darkness; systemic racism, inequality, greed, corruption, gun violence, and pure self-righteous hatred. The challenge’s came daily as people embolden by the “powers that be” gave them the platform they needed to thrive. Where there had been freedom there was now fear; where there was plenty there was now lack, where there was security there was now uncertainty.

Haggai 1:5-6 says “Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” With COVID, life as we knew it came to an abrupt halt and for some it brought more despair and questions. As for me, I rested in knowing that my God “would never leave me or forsake me”. He remained the God my mother’s taught, lived and talked about; the God of Psalms 37:25, 26, of Isaiah 41:10, and of 1 John 4:4. The faith of many was taken out, dusted off and took on a whole new meaning. They remembered faith and trust in a God true to His Word and provided for His own; others learned about the faithfulness of God. For me, the time gave me unlimited, and often uninterrupted, time in study and prayer; time I spent building a closer relationship with my heavenly Father.

Our current president has invited God back into the White House. It’s going to take all prayer warriors fighting in this battle that God has already won for us. It is my prayer that lessons were learned from “enforced isolation” and be utilized in turning this nation towards God. We’ve had our battleplan for ages; 2 Chronicles 7:14 gives us the outline, Eph. 6: 11-12 gives us the battle plan, Eph. 6:1318 gives us the equipment needed. From the Old Testament to the New Testament we are given the victory. I will continue the fight to open blind eyes and open closed ears to the God I serve.