A 2020 Celebration

I’ll bet with all the memes and jokes about 2020, you are surprised that I’ve found something worth celebrating this year. But I have! I’ve actually found many things worthy of celebrating and writing about.

Today I had a great report from a cancer screening test and I couldn’t wait to celebrate by taking a long, long walk. It felt so good to swing my arms and stride along. I had not been aware of being anxious, but apparently I was. The relief made me feel lighter than air. I had asked for my health to be protected, knowing that is not always how things work. Good health is not the ultimate sign of God’s approval, and he even works his purpose through the death of his most loved persons. I guess when you have the intelligence to create life, to restore and make anything brand new, and when you plan to eventually resurrect all who’ve died anyway, you think a bit differently about death in general. Nevertheless, I admit that I struggle to keep God’s perspective in mind at times. And I particularly don’t like cancer.

For me, there is no better way to celebrate than to move, to see, to experience the natural world. I could give you the short story – it was a beautiful day and I saw a deer and two snakes. Or I could show you with my pictures, which I love to do. August is the last month of summer. Everything here in the north is maturing and getting ready to die or go dormant in a very few weeks. The colors are different, the grasses and flowers are going to seed. You can feel the progression of life cycles that are expertly designed to show us things about God, if we will look, and think about what we see.

Grasses and cat tails going to seed, berries maturing, goldenrod and sunflowers, ferns changing colors and getting OLD. Autumn is coming.

The irresistible trail (a miracle, not a single mosquito or deer fly did I swat.).

Hospital trail, Beaver Pond Loop, where rest stops are furnished with urinal and chamber pot, naturally.

Beaver Pond, with beaver lodge in the distance.

There is a snake in here, but you have to look really closely. I nearly stepped on it before it crawled off the path. Adrenalin moment.

God poured a lot of creativity, whimsy and humor into making fungi. I don’t know why, but I appreciate that he did it.

If you put away thoughts of COVID19, politics, natural disasters, and riots, I’ll bet you can find something to celebrate in 2020 too. I’d love to hear about it.

4 thoughts on “A 2020 Celebration”

I have found so much joy in 2020. Being made to sit and slow down and take pleasure in what is around me, rather than chasing off to yet another place, in the hope that I might find joy there, has brought me to the realisation that joy and happiness is what we make it. Currently writing 26 posts on “Finding Joy in Lockdown”. So much to be grateful for. Blessings Joy x

shirleyjdietz says:

September 7, 2020 at 7:58 pm

So right! God had already slowed my life down before the pandemic hit so I barely noticed the restrictions, but I know that I have it much better than many. God has been kind to me in this very strange year. Thanks for checking in!

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