2020 Was the Best Year Ever!Sample

Children

Perspective. So much of our attitude and outlook hinges on our perspectives. Our children are remarkable creatures in that they bust our hearts wide open with an all-consuming love one moment and bring out the worst in us the next. I imagine this resonates with you as you think back on one of the longest years of our lives.

When mommy monster would burst onto the scene and the bathroom was the only safe space to hide, it was easy for me to swim in the waters of negativity--sometimes even drown in them. Being a mom is hard work as it is but when you add in a worldwide pandemic, riots and looting on our streets, and a political clash of the ages, well I’m sure I wasn’t the only one hiding in a corner. Our stress level only brings out the worst in us even more. 

I don’t follow too many random strangers on social media but one little lady caught my eye. Her name was Stevie and her dimpled smile and wild curly hair would stop any scroll through instagram with an awwww and a OMgosh look how cute she is! This particular post was a video of Stevie sitting on her mom’s lap in what was obviously a hospital room. The soon to be three year old was just diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and there was nothing her parents could do. 

I followed this family’s raw and vulnerable journey as they dealt with such tragic news--every parent’s worst nightmare. Not too long after the devastating diagnosis, I woke up and saw that little Stevie was now being cradled in nail scarred hands and it left me in a pile of tears. I never looked at my children the same way again. 

Life is fragile. It is a breath. A vapor. Here one moment and gone the next. And while that seems really depressing to spell out in a devotion designed to offer hope and peace, if you let it, it’ll change you. A mother’s tragic news was my gift of a new perspective. My night time cuddle sessions with my one year old are now complete with pouring out thanks to our Father as I stare into baby blues and stroke tiny chubby cheeks. I know these moments I’ll never. get. back. I breathe them in and let them linger longer. 

Step away and find moments of solitude when you need it, when you feel the monster bubble up. Does it feel as if the world is crumbling all around us? It can sure seem that way. Breathe in for five seconds, hold for four, and breathe out for seven (it’s something I like to do when the stress of our world situation snuffs out the joy). But as you breathe in and breathe out, think of Stevie and the short but beautiful life she lived and let her change your perspective too.