When the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2019, I was checking into a hotel in Ardmore, Oklahoma. In other words, it was maybe the most uneventful way to ring in a new year.
My wife and I got our 3 kids settled into our hotel room (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles) and it finally hit me while laying on my bed that 2019 had arrived.
“Thank God,” I thought to myself.
Not that there’s anything magical about the start of a new year. It’s just another day in the life. But I suppose it does signal the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. And I welcome that.
Because here’s the reality: 2018 was hands down the hardest year of my life. It’s not even close.
I’ll get back to that in a moment.
I have to confess that I’m not a big fan of ‘The Highlights of 2018’ posts. Sorry. Some of you are reading this and you posted something like that. I’m not secretly judging you. I still like you. It’s okay.
But here’s my beef—life is not a series of highlights strung together. That’s not how it works. I could put together a top 10 list from 2018 that would look like this:
- JJ was born!
- We got to see our families a bunch
- We paid off a car
- Ivy turned 4
- Beatrice turned 2
- Holly and I went to Orlando
- I got to drink butter beer at Harry Potter World
- We hosted a small group from our church in our home
- Holly started her career as a psychiatric nurse practitioner
- I started a blog
I could post that on Facebook and say, “2018 in the books! Bring on 2019!”
And you would read that and think, “Wow! 2018 was a great year for the Dodd Squad!”
That’s partially true. Some really great things happened. But man, some really hard things happened too. If the end of a year is a finish line, it felt like we army crawled to it.
Sometimes the power of positive thinking just doesn’t cut it. You with me?
On the flip side, if all I did was complain about how hard my year was, I would be committing the same error I am ranting about.
Life is really hard. And it’s also really amazing.
Those two realities are a constant tension in my life. And I would bet money you feel that tension too. This is why I struggle with end of the year highlight reels as if everything is peachy. Because it’s not. You probably experienced some hard stuff in 2018.
Where am I going with this? I’m not sure. Let me keep writing and we will figure this out.
I’m a big fan of March Madness (just hang with me for a minute). One of my favorite moments during March Madness is the “One Shining Moment” video that plays after the national championship game. I love how the video walks you through the tournament, the highs and the lows. They never just show the winning shots. They show you the tears. The pain of losing. The almost moments.
If we are talking about highlight reels, that seems more true to life. Celebrate the victories. But also don’t gloss over the pain.
It’s okay to include the hard moments in your highlight reel. It’s okay to even be thankful for the trials. That’s where God meets us. In the broken places.
As I look ahead to 2019, I see many trials on the horizon. But I see the sun. And I keep pressing on.
Dodd Squad 