What blessings did you receive in 2020?

Happy New Year! I know a lot of people are really glad to see 2020 exit. But you know, Jan. 1, 2021, is just one day after Dec. 31, 2020. 
I don’t think things are going to magically change. We have to be agents of change and the only thing we actually have control over is our own hearts.
I know that every year has blessings and sorrows. I know that a lot of people have lost loved ones or experienced serious health or professional set-backs. I am truly sorry for your suffering. I don’t want to minimize anyone’s suffering, but I do want to encourage each of us to make a list of the blessings we received in 2020. Get a sheet of paper and start making a list of blessings you have received in 2020. 
Perhaps a new friendship? Maybe a reconciliation with an old friend? Maybe you developed some good holy/healthy habits during the lockdown? Maybe you had unexpected time to spend with your children? Perhaps you and your spouse reconnected? Maybe you had some time to tackle a project around the house? Maybe you learned you could work from home some/a lot of the time? Maybe something you were fearing or dreading has now passed, one way or another? 
I will forever be grateful for March-May 2020. I had to be in the office 7 days a week during those weeks, but everything else stopped. Instead of being on the road to various parishes and schools, I went to work in the morning and in the mid-afternoon I went home. I was home in the evening and my children were all home with nowhere to go and nothing to do. We had time to play catch and talk while we did. We ate outside on the porch virtually every evening; do you all remember how beautiful the weather was? (we paid for that nice weather with a crazy hurricane season, but still …). 
We played games and talked as a family. We did projects and yard work together.
Thank you God for 2020. I can’t wait to see the manifold blessings you have in store for 2021!
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
For more information concerning the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org