From the Publisher

""Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you… You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and have continued them to this day in Israel and among all mankind and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm and with great terror." Jeremiah 32:17,20,21

Goodbye 2020

2020, a year of terror, confusion, uncertainty and loss. 2020, a year of family closeness, renewed time with neighbors and support of those in need. 2020, a year of paradoxes, record profits on Wall Street while much of Main Street lives day to day, a country divided down the middle politically while working together to overcome damage caused by the virus.

I was recently having lunch with a friend who was struggling to determine the right career move. He is one of the blessed ones in this Pandemic whose skills were much in demand but determining the right choice, given the tremendous need of the different parties asking for his help, wasn’t easy. He said he “had been praying for vision and wisdom and found it ironic that, in the year of 2020, there has never been more confusion or lack of vision everywhere”. He found it humorous that 2020 Vision has always been a statement that describes the ability to see things clearly and voiced the frustration/sentiment of us all, that 2020 will be remembered for the rest of our lives as anything but clear.

I recently reposted a Facebook post asking the question, “can we start using 2020 as a four-letter curse word”. The desire to quickly leave 2020 behind us is a universal prayer, we long to return to the days of walking free of masks, while not fearing a casual conversation with a stranger or, more importantly, a loved one.

Jeremiah 17 lifts up the power of God that spared Israel by delivering it from slavery, the focus is not on the fact that Israel is enslaved, but on the greatness of God and that He reached in and saved Israel. I believe as we leave 2020 and work to restore our lives in 2021, we should thank God for the work of the scientists and health care workers who have made the 2021 recovery possible. We should look for ways to support the local businesses that start to reopen as the power of the vaccine takes hold of the city.

Our children and grandchildren will study the 2020 Pandemic, I can only pray that we all work together to put the election and Pandemic behind us so the history books will not only write about the damage of the Pandemic, but they will write about how we all worked to help rebuild our nation by rebuilding our cities focusing on those who have been most affected by the Pandemic.

Celebrate Thanksgiving and the Peace of Memphis.
Jim Walker