Ah, 2020. The year no one was sad to leave behind. There are many defining qualities of 2020 as well as lessons it has taught me. Here are two of those lessons that I have carried with me into the new year:

What’s More Important?

I got married in November of 2019 and moved to Columbus, Ohio, with my best friend and new husband, Andrew. Prior to the wedding, there were so many things we were looking forward to doing as a newly married couple, including lots of traveling, exploring our new city, and spending downtime watching movies cuddled up on the couch.

Enter March of 2020 — suddenly the world shut down. Andrew and I had to cancel travel plans, and we had both been furloughed from our jobs.

Not exactly the first year of marriage we had envisioned.

While it was hard mentally and financially, the most important thing to both of us is that we were together. God allowed us to get married before having to face these challenges, and we were able to grow as a couple and as individuals with this unprecedented amount of time we had together. (Plus, we were able to have way more movie nights than we could have fathomed.)

Even If the World Stops, God Still Moves

Andrew is an artist and has always wanted to start his own freelance design business as well as build his personal brand. A couple months after he was furloughed from his job, he got called back, but the pandemic had majorly impacted his work, and he was no longer enjoying it. Besides the unemployment I was receiving, he was our only source of income, so we made it a matter of prayer.

We both felt that God was directing Andrew to quit his job and focus on starting his business. On paper, we agreed that it was a reckless idea. We should have been more hesitant and wary of losing a steady source of income, but we felt God’s peace and knew this was the direction He wanted us to go. Andrew has since grown his business by acquiring several clients and has been commissioned for numerous art pieces.

There were many challenging aspects of 2020, but there is no denying that in times of turmoil, our God is loyal.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

What About Your 2020?

Did God help you reprioritize in 2020? Or did He keep working and moving even though everything else screeched to a halt? Leave a comment, and tell us about it!

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.