To what can we compare this year? A roller coaster? Wait! A roller coaster can be fun! I asked around and some of our members said “2020 was challenging, unexpected, frustrating, different, messy, chaotic, unpredictable, and my favorite, the year that wasn’t”, and these are just a few of the responses - the list is long. To me, it was indeed like a roller coaster. I dislike them, I get sick, I throw up, and I want to get off at the middle of the ride. But I can’t, and I feel powerless and so vulnerable. That is how year 2020 felt!
As I think about how this year has been hard for me, it is simply the fact that I couldn’t stay connected with my brothers and sisters in Christ. As with many families this past year, it is the empty businesses that were not here a year ago— or the empty chairs at our family tables, or empty homes in our neighborhoods, empty pews in our church (when we return). Some are feeling emptiness toward God! And that’s why I want to remind you in this letter and for this New Year, we have hope in Christ! As God has always been showing up through the toughest times, we can trust and wait in the Lord for God’s blessing for this new year. It is often said that God works in most unusual ways. Take for example the gospel we read on Christmas Eve. The account of the meeting of Mary with her cousin Elizabeth. They were both pregnant at the time. I am sure these babies and the way that they came to be caused a lot of troubles for these two women. We don’t know their ages for sure but we know that Mary was very young and Elizabeth was very old. So in both cases, these babies will bring a challenging and difficult year. But despite all of that, God’s purpose was to redeem the world. So in all the troubles, God still blessed them and through them, blessed us.
Don’t lose sight of that. God is still in control. And God keeps God’s beautiful promise. And as some of you also said on your responses, “there were good things in the midst of what we went through” and felt blessed. Or like some others said, “not everything was bad”. I too will say amen to that. In a lot of cases people have grown closer to God. and people have also grown closer to their family members. Or they learned a lot more about their loved ones because of the way they were forced to be together. We made new friends, started new relationships, and learned new things. So whatever this year was like, focus on God’s promises and focus on God’s blessings. For sure this year has been exactly how it is described above, and we can’t wait to end it. But reading the story of the birth of our Lord Jesus again and again, I found such glorious words of hope; not only in this Christmas time, but also as we begin a New Year. I have heard it said so very often this past month, “2021 has to be better than 2020!” I stand with all of you who have said these words or have thought them. Certainly, we hope the pandemic will be controlled soon. We hope to be back together with family, loved ones, and church friends. We hope to freely hold family gatherings and feel safe going into a restaurant and stores. We hope that our kids can safely go back to school. Let‘s work together, keep everyone safe and what is most important: keep hope and faith alive!
I want to leave you with this verse from Isaiah and hope it will help you to keep hoping in God’s promise during this coming year.
Isaiah 43:1-3
1But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Health and a Happy New Year are my wishes for my FIRST family.
Pastor Ramon Zarate
