Did you receive any of those "Hey, look at what we did this year" letters this Holiday Season?  They are kind of an end of the year tradition for some people, and they are actually a pretty good way of distributing news and information to people who might be interested.  Typically, these letters indicate that the family has had a wonderful year of achievements and excitement.  In fact, these people have all had such a busy year that it makes you wonder how they found the time to put it all down on paper.  

But 2020 was a little bit of a different kind of year, wasn't it?  How can you write an exciting letter about quarantines and lock-downs?  How do you make staying at home and wearing masks and avoiding people sound like a grand adventure?  How do you make Zoom calls and working from home and binge-watching Netflix seem like something your readers wish they could be doing?   

Oh, that's right - that is exactly what we were all doing this year.  Come to think of it, the one "Year In Review" letter I remember reading this Holiday Season sounded strangely like what I had done all year.  Maybe I should have started a work-from-home business this year - "End of the Year Letters R Us".  You send me the names of the people to include in the letter, and, for a reasonable fee, I'll write your "Year In Review" letter for you.  It would have been so easy this year - type up one form letter, and then just change the names and fill in the blanks.  Oh well, another opportunity lost. 

Of course, I have over-simplified.  It's true that the strange circumstances of 2020 forced all of us to change our usual routines.  But it is not true that we all lived the same lives last year.  Everyone's experiences with life in 2020 were as different as each of us are different from each other.  Some sailed through the year without the slightest difficulty, while some suffered terribly and lost much; some grew stronger under the pressure, while some realized how weak they are; some accepted God's gracious call, while some refused His invitation.  Imagine that - we are all unique - even when life attempts to push us all into the same mold.

That shouldn't surprise us.  This is a world of amazing diversity and complexity.  And in a world in which no two fingerprints are exactly alike, in a world in which no two snowflakes are exactly alike, in a world in which even identical twins are not exactly alike, how could we ever presume that any two people would be exactly alike?  How could we ever presume that I would experience the world in the same way as you?   

Of course, this isn't rocket science - we all know this, we all get it.  The problem has always been the tendency to evaluate people based on whether or not their appearance and their patterns of responses to Life are similar to our own.  If so, then the tendency is to accept them.  If not, then they are not accepted.  Instead, they are judged.   

Oh, we may not ever say it that way.  We might even make a nice show of "speaking" words of acceptance and tolerance.  And, as one who has made a living in this world by virtue of the spoken and written word [as opposed to "real work"!], I certainly understand the power of words.  But words alone are not enough.  We've got to show it.   

And this isn't rocket science either - we all know this, we all get it.  The problem is that showing acceptance takes action, it takes work.  And maybe it's just me, but work is hard.  My tendency is to look for the easy way; my tendency is to find reasons [excuses] for not taking action.  And 2020 sure gave us lots of reasons [excuses] for not getting involved, for not taking action to demonstrate acceptance, didn't it?    

As always, I am so grateful for those of you who aren't afraid of doing the hard work of reconciliation, especially this past year.  You inspire me.  You are stepping up to the great calling God has given to His people while we live on this earth - 2 Corinthians 5:18. You are making a wonderful difference in this world. 

As we rush headlong into the New Year, one of my resolutions is to join with you and finally get out of the business of passing judgment.  And, I pray that my actions of reconciliation will live up to my words.      

~Shepherd Ambrose Ramsey