2020 is finally winding down. It can’t happen fast enough. It feels like we were given a gigantic Time Out by our mothers or something. Each morning I wake up and my wife is waiting with a thermometer. She won’t let me out of bed until she takes my temperature. I was raised on Fahrenheit, so it’s confusing. “37 degrees? Shouldn’t I be dead?” “No, she says, “it’s Celsius. You’re fine.” Next, I adjust my mask and we trundle off to the kitchen for breakfast, usually toast and an omelet with extra cheese and bacon and ham and four or five pieces of French toast. Then I climb aboard the digital weigh scales and a voice says, “Woah Phil! One at a time, please.”

I’m exaggerating a little, but I did manage to gain 7 lbs. this year, which was not on my list of New Year’s Resolutions. Ramona has given birth thrice and still fits neatly into her wedding dress. I have given birth exactly 0 times and had to buy new jeans in May.

Who would have thought the world could change so fast? At the very least we’ve been highly inconvenienced. Church is a challenge. Our daily routines have been disrupted adding stress and strain on our physical and mental health, on our finances. Some have lost jobs, businesses, loved ones. Others have lost hope. But is hope found in a vaccine or a politician or an economy that will mushroom?

Thanks to 3 adoptions during 2020 we now have 13 grandkids. Someone asked, “Are you Mormon or Catholic?” I said, “We’re exhausted. And very, very happy.” I think a child is God’s reminder that no matter how dark things seem, He’s not finished with this old world.

He “sustains all things,” says Hebrews 1:3. “No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord,” Proverbs 21:30 tells us.

I can’t understand what’s going on, but God can. I can’t quite see it from here, but Heaven’s throne is occupied. And all is well.

We who have faith in Jesus believe that better days lie ahead. That no one can frustrate the plans of the Almighty. That nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Psalm 33 says this: “We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield…Lord…our hope is in you alone.” God be with you in the new year, my friend. Now, go take someone’s temperature. No. I’m kidding. Instead, go make someone’s day.