As the year 2020 came to an end, we were so thankful to be putting all of that behind us, remember?  Surely, we had reached the bottom, and there was no place to go but up, remember?

 But then, 2021 came along, and things didn’t get better, remember?  In fact, there were times when it went from bad to worse, remember? 

 So now, here’s 2022.  What is going to happen now? 

 Oh wait.  I’m sorry.  I’m talking about the state of my golf game, not politics or national affairs or pandemics.  I apologize for any inconvenience.    

 Because politics and national affairs and pandemics are all getting better, right?  That’s what they keep telling us, isn’t it?  Surely with all of the best minds available sitting in places of political power, we can expect all, or at least most of our problems to be solved swiftly and completely and without any unintended consequences, right?

 Oh wait.  I’m sorry.  That’s what things will be like in Heaven.  I apologize for any inconvenience.

 Until then, here on Earth, we are all flawed and imperfect beings, riddled through and through by the effects of sin, living on a planet that has been, against its will, subjected to God’s curse, and is literally groaning as though in childbirth.  And yes, we are groaning too, waiting “with eager hope” for what is to come.  It’s all right there in Romans 8:18-25.

 Everybody we encounter is in the same condition [except for the many who do not have that “eager hope”].  What should we expect from such people?  My [Facebook] friend, Landon Saunders, puts it this way:

 You do not have the right to hold any expectations for another person.  How much of your anger and

 disappointment comes from needs you have that you expect them to meet?  It is an amazing thing how

 much can change when you appreciate people for who they are rather than despising them for not

 being what you expect them to be.  

 Amen, Landon.  I think I’m going to make these words my New Year’s Resolution.  I hope you’ll join me, and I hope you’ll remind me whenever I forget.