I laughed as I read a friend’s 2020 Christmas letter. We all know 2020 has been challenging. But I didn’t realize how much until I read her month-by-month replay of the year and all the unusual things that happened in her family as well as around the world.

Besides the obvious, there were a few I hadn’t heard of: plague monkeys, murder hornets, and a rather close encounter with a meteor.

This letter could have been a downer, yet there was much good implied.

There was protection, guidance, healing, humor, and love in many of the incidents described.

Some might say that this perspective as looking at the glass half full rather than as half empty.

I prefer to call it looking at the glass completely full — of blessings from God,

Yes, this has been a watershed year for many reasons.

My heart goes out to all who have lost loved ones,, financial security, promised events, or a sense of peace.

My family also said goodbye to several family members this year and it has been hard not to be able to participate in many treasured, traditional, and expected events.

But 2020 has also brought much good and incredible expressions of love, generosity, and sharing between family, friends, neighbors, and complete strangers.

I have seen a greater appreciation for personal connections, no matter how long they may last.

I’ve seen parents become more engaged with their children and children actually tire of screen time and seek out physical activities.

I have seen expressions of love expressed between neighbors who barely used to see each other, let alone speak.

People have reimagined celebrations and though not traditional, somehow have become more meaningful because of their inventiveness.

The news also has been filled with novel ways people have reached out to share their talents and fortune to bolster others, such as concerts on balconies and neighborhood dinners from individual porches.

For me, this isn’t some random act of kindness. But the roots of such actions are found in the profound action of Divine Love — a love that transcends all worldliness, and finds it’s source in God, Himself.

Yes, I am grateful for this year. For it has both forced me to dive deeper into understanding my — and everyone’s — relationship to God, and afforded me time to do so. I have prayed more this year than ever before. Not only for my family and friends, but for the world.

I have also experienced the blessing of having my children home in a way that hasn’t happened since they were little. Also, grandma came to live with us. Although have a full house can be challenging at times, the family has grown closer and stronger as a result.

In the Christian Science Sunday School, I learned that God is our true Father and Mother. That He/She created all that was made, and “behold it was very good.”

As we actively look for good in both people and events, we will find it.

One of my favorite authors, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.”

(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 261:4)

To me, this means keeping my focus on God. It means actively looking for Divine Love’s activity being expressed; activity listening to what God, Divine Mind, is telling me; actively living my life to glorify God, Divine Life, in all that I do.

It also means actively expressing gratitude for everything that She is doing — no matter what the material picture. And that active gratitude isn’t just reciting a litany of blessings I have received, but in acting on that gratitude by looking for ways to help others. Again from S&H, “Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.”

(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 3:25)

Not always an easy task! Sometimes I fail miserably. But even baby footsteps in that direction can change the landscape (or erase the mists) and reveal the good God is providing.

A small example of this happened this fall when I all of my current jobs were unavailable. We needed money. But instead of being frustrated because of the pandemic, I turned to God, knowing that as our Father and Mother, He not only made us, but maintains us.

“Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need,” is a favorite verse from S&H, which is painted on the front of our church auditorium.

As i remembered this, I chose to be grateful for the good already going on, actively looking, listening, and living.

I was out running errands one day when I was drawn to a “Hiring Now” sign from a seasonal retail store, Spirit of Halloween. I immediately felt compelled to apply. I haven’t done retail in years and was nervous about my ability to run a cash register, but the feeing was so strong that I knew God was directing me.

I applied and was hired the following week. I asked for a sales clerk position but soon was promoted to Assistant Manager. It was an incredible experience. It became apparent that it was where I needed to be. Not only did this position meet an immediate financial need for my family, but there were so many opportunities to bless and be blessed from interactions with fellow employees and costumers. Maybe because of today’s unusual circumstances, the group become more of a family, several of whom have remained friends.

As 2021 begins, I look forward, with gratitude, for all of Divine Love’s blessings that actively overflow everyone’s glass.

May your and your family’s glass overflow with good this coming year.

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