New Year, Renewed Hope (New Year, New Hope)

By Phoebe Joy S. Uy of 12 – Martin Luther

In the last few days of 2019, I remember that my family and friends were all elated to enter 2020, the beginning of a new decade. The number 2020 seemed to glimmer in itself; it was easy to pronounce; it had a pleasant ring to it. It was also comparable to other positive aspects of life, such as having a perfect vision of 20-20; the prime condition for the eyes to function properly alluding to the resolution of many to improve on various life goals. Such was the mindset, or should I say, outlook, of many when the clock struck midnight, signifying the start of the new year that was 2020. 

Source: Image from https://www.machinedesign.com/community/article/21838286/having-2020-vision-in-the-new-year

Fast-forward to just 3 months into the year, we found that 2020 was not at all what we expected and hoped to be. It seems, as one bad news came after the other, this was the year of suffering for all mankind. The environment manifested frightening phenomena; the death of celebrities shocked fans and non-fans alike; most of all, the spread of the CoViD-19 pandemic exposed both the frailty of human life and the weaknesses of many health institutions. With the latter being almost the “last straw” of whatever could go wrong that year, the majority of the world fell into a period of social isolation with the implementation of national lock-downs.

With everything that has happened in 2020, it is understandable for many of us to feel afraid and hesitant to look forward to the new year ahead of us. Many questions fill our minds and hearts as the news wavers between the good and the bad. However, we can remember that it almost felt as if 2020 was the longest, darkest night that the people of this generation would experience yet, and there seemed to be no hope for this night to pass. Allow me to, through this article, uplift us all by saying that the sun will soon rise and break the darkness of the night that 2020 was; there are reasons we can have new hope in the new year that is 2021.

Image from https://unsplash.com/s/photos/sunrise

Revelations 21:5 states, “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” The future that lies in the mysteries of 2021 is not something we should worry about the worst of, for it is promised that God is “making everything new,” restoring us and the state of our world. The sufferings we have faced in 2020, as well as those we might face in 2021 and in the years to come, are temporary though a normal part of life. The hope we are to have for this new year should be based on God’s plan for His people to experience His full restoration when Jesus Christ returns and a new heaven and new earth are made. For then “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelations 21:4) With this in mind, we look forward to 2021 knowing that God is with us and that this year He remains our source of comfort and refuge from the storms we have encountered in the past year. 

As we remind ourselves of the presence of God even in bleak times such as this, we have hope that He will provide just what we need, and work miracles in our lives in the microscopic and macroscopic. In the recent news, we hear about the near availability of vaccines for our country. A few months back, these vaccines were a glimmer of hope that seemed unattainable. Vaccines are known to take years upon years to manufacture and test to guarantee the efficacy and the safety of their usage. However, we have seen a leap for the sciences in the last year. The relatively quicker pace at which different vaccines were made to combat the common enemy is proof of the advancement of the technology and knowledge that are available to us today, and it is both an achievement and a blessing to humankind in this generation. In terms of the global health status, the new vaccines serve as a hope we can hold with us as we start the new year. When the vaccines become a public commodity, there is hope that cases this year can be lessened, in our country and abroad. 

In the same way the world anticipates the cure for the physical ailment that afflicts our generation today, a number of us also hope for relief from the mental, emotional, and social dilemmas we have been dealing with before or during the pandemic. The lockdown has not been easy for many, to say the very least: some have lost their jobs; for others, their loved ones. But a reflection of mine is that 2020 was a year that reminded us of the sensitivity and empathy we are capable of.  I cannot speak for everybody else, but during the months of lockdown I spent in my house, I have taken some time to reflect on myself and reconnect with others. Through these intra- and interpersonal processes, I found that we are all struggling with our problems, and my realizations have taught me to be more compassionate with everyone. The pandemic is proof that problems do not play favorites: the rich and the poor have equal exposure to the coronavirus; the economy can affect sectors that would otherwise not be vulnerable without the current medical situation of the world, and no one can escape death and loss. But if we have all allowed ourselves to learn a lesson or two from 2020, it would be that we can be more empathic and understanding to those around us; we are all suffering unspoken problems and we each deserve to be treated with kindness. The hope we get from knowing this is that we enter 2021 intending to approach others with a newfound sense of respect and care, and if this is so for everyone, I believe we can look forward to 2021 being a year of renewed sensitivity and tolerance.

Source: Image from https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/covid-19-relief-response/

*2020 may have left off a bitter taste, with experiences not many of us would want to carry with us to the new year, but it is undeniable that 2020 has taught us invaluable lessons and reminded us of truths we can hope in. We can look to 2021 with an outlook that is beyond the 20-20 vision we have hoped for in the last year, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Lamentations 3: 21-24 reminds us that God’s love and faithfulness are still with us as we trudge through the obstacles that come our way, as it is written that “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.’” God holds our future, and we have nothing to be afraid of, for as sure as we were able to get through 2020 by His faithfulness and grace, we are assured He will carry us through 2021 in the same way.