The end of 2020

Well we’re just a few hours away from the end of 2020, and what a year it has been! I’m not going to say it’s been an ‘unprecedented year’ as that’s just so cliche, and must have been said thousands of times this year already.

It’s been a year I’m sure none of us could have imagined, even this time last year; it’s been a year like no other we have ever lived through before, and hopefully will never have to again in the future. Let’s be honest, It’s been a tough year for all of us, not least for those who

• are key workers; or
• have been furloughed; or
• lost their job; or
• lost family or friends to COVID-19; or
• been ill with COVID-19; or
• have had to cancel or postpone family celebrations due to restrictions; or
• are struggling with their mental health; or
• live alone.

It’s been a challenge for us all, with all of us having to change our ‘normal’ life upside down, to live what has had to become our ‘new normal’, in all aspects of our lives. Yes it’s been tough but there have been some good things come out of 2020, and that’s what I want to focus on now…the positives of 2020.

• People have looked out for one another, with communities working together to try and ensure everyone in their community had food, prescriptions and other necessities.
• Many have had to adapt to work from home full-time, with those in IT and technology having to respond to the massive increase in demand on their services.
• We’ve had to have work meetings via Microsoft Teams or Zoom (to name a couple of the most common ones), rather than turning to the person sitting next to us to ask a question.
• We’ve had to ‘meet with’ and talk to our family and friends via social media and or other video chat apps.
• Concerts and shows have been cancelled or rescheduled to at least 2021.
• Churches have had to find new ways to communicate with their members, and many have found providing their services online via such things as YouTube or Zoom, has meant more people from around the world have been able to attend live online or watch later – more so than they would ever have had if their services had just been held in their church building itself.
• Musicians have had been unable to meet together to play or sing together since March, but for many of us, we’ve had to adapt to recording our contribution to a piece of music, virtually, and then skilfully put together and then shared on social media – Again, this has allowed many, including the band I play in (Bellshill Salvation Army Band), to reach so many more people than they could ever have imagined, or ever been able to if they’d been able to take part in the programme of events that they would normally have done.

2020 has been a tough year for us all, but let’s look forward to 2021 with hope and optimism, as there is light at the end of this very dark tunnel that has been the coronavirus pandemic – Hopefully as more and more are vaccinated against COVID-19, life will return to something closer to what was ‘normal’ pre COVID-19. Personally I don’t think we’ll ever return to life exactly as it was pre COVID-19, but something closer to that would be good.

I for one am looking forward to being able to meet with family and friends. I’m looking forward to getting back outside and out and about more again, and being able to go to church again, and play in the same hall as the rest of Bellshill Salvation Army Band, rather than at home myself.

I pray for us all that the hope and optimism that we have for 2021 will be fulfilled, and that life will start to get back to something more like we consider to be ‘normal’. I wish you good health, peace and happiness for a blessed 2021.