Hindsight is 20/20
By Tim Babler
I was never much of a fan of the phrase, “Hindsight is 20/20”. Of course it is! It’s so much easier to look into the past and see the times when we’ve messed up and made mistakes. But do you know what happens if you’re walking forward but looking behind you? You’re going to trip and fall flat on your face!
It’s sure easy for us to look back at this year and consider it to be one of the worst years of our lives. For most of us, our lives were essentially shut down in the middle of March. We were told to limit time in public areas, work from home if possible, and avoid touching pretty much everything. People were going to stores in full PPE, and even that didn’t seem like enough for some.
With everything bad that seemed to happen for 9+ months this year, can we honestly look back and say that 2020 was a good year? It seems like that is an impossible sentiment. Surely nothing good came out of 2020!
But is that really true? Can you honestly look back and say that nothing good came out of 2020? What were some unexpected blessings that God sprinkled into your life when you were looking the other way? Did being “stuck” with your kids or spouse at home give you time to actually do things together as a family? Did extra time and new technologies allow you to connect with family and friends who live far away and who you don’t get to see very often? Did watching church virtually give you the chance to view more than one service per week?
I know for me 2020 was a year of blessings. Even if this past year for you truly was one of the worst in your life, you’re here reading this right now. God has brought you through these challenges and you’ve come out on top. Sure there were some losses along the way, but not everything that is lost is truly a loss.
There’s a poem that has been popular for the past few decades called “Footprints in the Sand.” The poem is a prayer from the author’s perspective asking God a few questions. The author looks back at their footprints left behind in the sand while walking with Jesus. When the author notes that for a long period of time there was only one set of footprints, they go on to say, “Lord when did you leave me when times were the hardest?” Jesus replies and says, “My child, I didn’t leave you. Those were the times when I carried you.”
It’s easy for us to think that we are on our own when we face trials and challenges. But God reminds us time and time again that he is by our side and will never let us go. One of my favorite Bible passages comes from Hebrews 13:5 where we are reminded of God’s promise: “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.”
So when you look back on all that has happened this year, I hope you can find those times when God was giving you unexpected blessings. I hope you can remember those times when you weren’t alone, but Jesus was indeed carrying you through it.
We may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds our future. Hindsight is 20/20. 2020 is in the past. The future is in God’s hands.