We have much for which to be thankful

Something struck me about New Year’s Eve 2020. Maybe it was just me, and this observation is not based upon any scientific survey, but it seemed I heard a lot fewer people saying “Happy New Year” this year. Instead, I repeatedly heard people saying “Goodbye 2020!” It wasn’t that we were looking forward and welcoming a new year as much as we were looking back, glad to be rid of 2020.
Instead of the usual cheerful outlook that the beginning a new year brings, there was more of a cautionary spirit this year. Realizing how challenging 2020 had been, people were more guarded in their hope that the new year might be a little better.
There is no denying the stresses of 2020: social upheaval, racial tensions, political clamor, hurricanes and the pandemic. People worried about their financial welfare, their health, the welfare of loved ones and property damage from storms.
It also seemed that we became more isolated from each other. Some of this was from physical separation due to the social distancing that COVID regulations required.; but some was social separation due to a growing emotional distancing arising from divisions in our country.
The reality is that the social distancing of health regulations, while necessary to protect health, also entail the possibility of significant emotional distress. Psychological experts point out that quarantines affect the mental health of people in isolation. Anxiety, substance abuse, depression and anger can last months and even years, even after the isolation comes to an end. Social divisions in our country can be just as damaging to the societal health of a nation.
The past year has created a lot of uncertainty among people. We have had the feeling that we are not in control. Events that are threatening, uncontrollable, and uncertain stress our mental health.
The problems of the past year were real and these problems will not magically disappear with the turn of a page of the calendar. This new year brings with it the burdens of the past year and will also have difficulties of its own. That is reality. However, it is also reality that God is with us in everything.
As the Pope recently stated: “When we focus exclusively on problems, and refuse to lift our eyes to God, fear and confusion creep into our hearts, giving rise to anger, bewilderment, anxiety and depression.” Pope Francis continued: “Life’s problems do not go away, instead God grants us the strength to deal with them.”
We have much for which to be thankful. Even this past year had its blessings for each of us. We have only to open our eyes in order to see the gifts God gave us during 2020. I remember speaking once with a lady who was dealing with many painful situations in her life. She told me that she had nothing for which to be grateful. I urged her to see the good things in her life. She told me that there were none. So I asked her to do me a favor: go home, take a pen and a sheet of paper and write down 5 things for which she was grateful. To her credit, she called me the next day and told me she had started to write down what she was grateful for and stopped writing after filling up two pages of blessings. She realized how blessed she actually was.
Blessed as we are, we are called to make the world a little better because we are in it. We may look at the darkness in our world and wonder what one person can do. How can one person make a difference? 
First, begin with ourselves. Once St. Teresa of Calcutta was asked what in the world needs to change? She answered, “Me.” The best way we can improve the world is for each one of us to seek to be a better follower of Christ. 
Second, make a difference in someone else’s life. Show Christian love in our homes, places of work and circles of friends. The darkness of the world is real but as the old saying goes: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. The light we bring may be spending time with someone, a donation to the poor, forgiving another person, etc. It is amazing how our attitudes change for the better when we stop focusing on ourselves and care about others.
This new year may have its problems but there will also be the presence of God in all things. Let us know that the true Light of the world, Jesus Christ, shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. We are called to let that light shine through us to others.