“…those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength…they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not faint.”

–Isaiah 40:31

There hasn’t been much to laugh about this year, but I had to chuckle when I heard the reason members of Congress were offered the Covid-19 vaccine in its first week of availability was because they were deemed to be essential workers. You can’t make this stuff up! Actually, it’s not funny. No member of Congress has any business getting the vaccine before it’s offered to every health care worker, medic, fireman, law enforcement officer, teacher, and at-risk senior.

This has been a year of waiting: Fifteen days to slow the spread, just a few more months to bend the curve, sitting in quarantine for 2 weeks after virus exposure, the Door Dash or pizza delivery person who’s running late, the election season to conclude–I could go on and on.

Perhaps it’s fitting that we end 2020 in that hopeful season of waiting known as Advent. Indeed, there is joy in the anticipation of Christmas, whether one celebrates it as a religious event or just enjoys the lights, decorations, and festivities. To put things in perspective, the Jewish people to whom Isaiah preached waited 700 years for his prophecies to come true.

We just have to wait a few more days for 2020 to end, perhaps with such anticipation that even the more “mature” adults among us might stay up to see the year’s exodus! Before moving on to next year, here are 4 things I consider significant and encouraging for this year:

1. The rapid development of a Covid-19 vaccine is nothing short of a Christmas miracle. The administration’s Operation Warp Speed orchestrated it, and should receive much-deserved credit.
2. Attorney General Bill Barr’s refusal to reveal the Department of Justice’s investigation into a presidential candidate’s relative not only followed the Department’s regulations, but was done in the face of what General Barr knew would be blowback once the details became public. Agree or not, we didn’t need more cries of election interference.
3. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the State of Texas’s suit against other states based on the rule of standing. Remember the many people who cried out that President Trump was packing the Court with justices who would do his bidding? Nonsense. The Court’s adherence to the separation of powers doctrine should be celebrated.
4. Major League Baseball’s decision that the Negro League players’ records and careers will make them eligible for MLB membership and Hall of Fame consideration. No separate wing in Cooperstown, no asterisks–just total acceptance as part of MLB. This is how history should be served and inclusion should be done.

Now, moving on to 2021 and some things for which I am optimistic, or at least hopeful:

1. That the Covid-19 vaccine is a resounding success. For that to happen, we must have a significant percentage of citizens agree to get the inoculations.
2. That individuals, families, and businesses of all sizes can hang on until the world returns to normal and people at lower risk are allowed to work.
3. That the transfer of presidential power occurs peacefully. There will be more rancor, to be sure, but one very important thing that distinguishes our country from many others is the way in which one president leaves Washington as a new president assumes office that same day. I’m sure we take for granted how incredible that process is.
4. That we accept President-elect Biden as the winner of the election, but continue to investigate voting irregularities. The two are not mutually exclusive. Besides, do we really want to go through concerns about voting issues every 4 years?
5. For my Republican friends: That many of the current administration’s policies remain in effect, and new, younger faces emerge as leaders of the party. There are many talented people from whom to choose.
6. For my Democrat friends: That President-elect Biden will remain strong physically and mentally for his entire term. He is a moderate who has been pulled left by progressives in his party, including his vice president, and he will need all his faculties to keep the country anywhere near the center, where most Americans “live.” He is reported to be a good man and has managed to keep his nose fairly clean over a political career that spans almost a half-century. For the good of the country, I hope he is absolved of any involvement with illegal overseas issues. If he is, then he deserves a chance to succeed. Even though President Trump was attacked mercilessly from the left throughout his term, do we really want the right to do that to Mr. Biden? We can’t keep behaving like preschoolers (my apologies, kids.)
7. That we become a more coherent citizenry, recognizing and even celebrating our differences, while also working to seek common ground. Most of us are center-left or center-right, and those who want to drag us to the far left or far right must not be allowed to succeed.

That’s my list; I’m sure yours would be different from mine. Give it some thought, and let me know what’s on your list, please.

When this post is published, we will be just 3 days away from the new year. Rejoice–the wait is almost over! And may tidings of comfort and joy remain with us as we enter 2021.