Sayonara 2021! Some people may be ending this year with a bang. Looks like mine will have to end with a whimper. A trip to the ER has revealed my gallbladder is shot and full of stones. Not fun. I will get to start my year with a trip to Barnes. I’m not going to lie; I’ve been pouty about this. In 2021 I broke my leg, my dog died, I got COVID, and now this. The grumpy side of me wanted me to believe it was a rotten year. But God has His ways of giving me perspective. This time perspective came from my Google Year in Review.
A Year in Review is a short movie Google creates for its users by utilizing some of our own randomly selected pictures. I didn’t even know this was a thing until it popped up on my phone, inviting me to open my Year in Review. I clicked play and viola; an alternative view of my year began playing right before my eyes.
It opened with a selfie of Nathan and me at the Civic Center for the Grand Funk Railroad concert. They were excellent, and we had a fantastic time! Next came a shot of Gracie the day we brought her home. She was teeny tiny and so sweet. After that was a video of that teeny terror digging holes in the yard while we laughed at her antics. Then came pictures of us canoodling on a boat in Galveston during a dolphin-watching trip. Next came a hilarious shot of us at a Cardinals game with our friend photobombing our picture with a big cheesy grin. The Year in Review went on and on, showing some of the fantastic moments we had in 2021.
As I watched, my pouty frown turned upside down, and I was smiling and laughing in joy, watching our adventures. I felt like George Bailey. When I looked at my life from a different angle, I realized I really do have a wonderful life. And from that angle, 2021 didn’t suck so bad, after all! Was my wonderful life punctuated by difficult moments? You betcha. But those moments don’t tell the story of my life. Just like your bad moments don’t tell the story of yours, either. Unless you let them.
Our natural inclination is to let the sour steal the sweet. Just one bad moment can ruin a perfectly good day. If you don’t believe me, just think back to some of your “bad days” and reflect on what made them so bad. Was it the whole day, or just some isolated events you couldn’t get past?
Sadly, this tendency to let the negative eclipse the positive can hijack our lives. A couple of nasty fights can stick in our brains and make us believe we have a terrible marriage. A few tough days at the office can make us hate our job. A negative experience with “hypocrites” can make you want to give up on church. Next thing you know, you allow your negative moments to form your worldview. You can’t have a wonderful life with a negative outlook.
So, before you call 2021 a wash and tell everyone how awful it was, I have a homework assignment for you. I want you to open your photo app on your phone and look at your big, wonderful messy life. Let’s close out the year by thanking God for all the sweet moments He’s given us and usher in 2022 with our frowns turned upside down! Happy New Year!
One response
And you added some great staff!!!