Thankful for 2020

 

I had in my mind to write a post on the good parts of 2020, mostly because I needed reminding that it was still a good year, despite innumerable difficult parts!  I knew I would have a little bit of time between baths and when Ben returned home with the food pantry load that needs sorted tonight.

Somehow in that space of time, the five year old managed to splash the entire contents of the tub all over the bathroom and down the hall, which of course made the kitchen ceiling leak...again.  Thankfully it had been mudded but not yet painted from the last bathroom catastrophe.  I was still in the middle of cleaning up the frying oil in the kitchen from dinner when all of this happened.  Sort of made me feel ungrateful for 2020 again!

So before I forget...here are some bright spots in 2020 for our family.  Add some of yours in the comments!

• Three of my children got saved this year - Liberty, Nehemiah, and Henry
• Our church got kicked out of the public school.  While this still feels like a tragedy, I know in the long run it will be good because the next step must be for us to get our own rental space.  
• Our church had its lease on a beautiful commercial space cancelled after four months of negotiations.  This again seems awful, but God must have been saving us from something worse.  And he showed our church that He answers prayer in many ways.
• Peter learned to walk.  And climb.  And much more.  (We are working on "no")
• We learned to get creative in our home space.
• We explored more outdoor spaces because it was the only option for things to do!
• We took our first family bike ride where everyone rode their own bike!  And a second and a third too.
• We fit in a trip to Colorado to visit our family and supporting churches on the Western Slope in between border closures and lockdowns
• Though our van was vandalized twice, God provided for it ahead of time in both instances, and the vehicle itself was still usable!
• We finished our homeschool year 2019-2020 on time and with flying colors
• Our Covid stimulus check covered curriculum for 2020-2021 and helped us finish the year without any balance on the credit card.  
• We were able to play the complete soccer season without any quarantines or shutdowns. 
• We found out baby #7 is on the way
• I was diagnosed with a spondylo in my lower back, but I was able to have physical therapy and my back feels much better.  Everything was covered by the insurance!
• Our family wasn't sick for over a year, and when we did get sick it was literally all eight of us on the same day, but not Covid!
• My dad had a successful spinal surgery (8 hours long) and his recovery is going well.
• My Grams has stayed healthy throughout everything this year.
• God provided a bunk bed and mattress to situated the boys room - for free!
• People in our church have had Covid, or been exposed but all have recovered or had negative tests.  There hasn't been any Covid passed around at church!
• We were able to have outdoor church services during the summer, and resume in person meetings with a temporary location this fall.
• We planted our first little garden and built a fort in the back yard.  
• We had a snow storm big enough for sledding!
• Henry got to have his five year old December date and we didn't miss any of the "usual" activities.