Tip of My Iceberg

2021 has finally arrived.

The new year brings the hope of change, doing life differently.

The beauty in life, however, is the wonder of each new day giving us a chance to show up as our best selves. To live life now, being present with our circumstances and people around us.

Making each day count.

The anxiety of 2020 led many to wish away their current situations, waiting for a bad day or hurtful season to end or at least give them a chance to plan for something better and more pleasant.

We can’t legislate better times. We can only do today to the best of our ability. For many, living in the present, being focused on the here and now, is difficult. We’re always thinking of what we should be doing next.

Today is what matters.

We do today better in community.

Our daughter’s friend has a daughter who began watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” during the pandemic. She came to love Mr. Rogers and his kindness, how he was a soothing and trusted adult, a man she could count on to be caring. She wanted to send him pictures she’d drawn just for him, and her mom didn’t want to disappoint her that Mr. Rogers had already passed. My husband was the only Mr. Rogers she knew of, so the pictures came to John.

John took the time to respond by sending her some “friends from my neighborhood”, like Daniel Tiger, and a book.

Taking the time to be kind matters.

We need to make the most of the moment. Even when life is tough.

Mr. Rogers had many wise thoughts about valuing people and time. It’s what made him safe for children and an enigma in a world that categorized and labeled people.

He recognized how much we need one another.

“All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors–in our own way, each one of us is a giver and receiver.” Fred Rogers

Right now, we all need help. Help to focus on what’s important, help to embrace the challenges of living with restrictions, help to see hope in the moment.

Jesus came to give us that hope. He came not just to give us a new year, but to make us new people in Him, with renewed attitudes and His power living in and through us. He came to remind us that we might receive from Him the one thing we need more than anything else–the hope of complete forgiveness and the power to live out that reality. He came to make us aware of our value to Him–His love for us is boundless if we’ll just receive it.

He’s made each of us uniquely beautiful. We are His gifts to one another, all of us different, all of us in need of others.

None of us does life perfectly. Jesus, however, is perfect. In His perfection, He’s offering to make us whole in Him.

It’s not a new year we need.

It’s a new attitude.