Like a car fresh off the dealer lot, 2020 still has its New Year smell. Resolutions have been made by many and a few of us are holding out, opting to look for tweaks we can make to our lives instead of extreme overhauls.

If I am being honest, 2019 was tough. I was busy. I felt like I was unable to pause and catch my breath for most of the year. It was not until I began training for the Marine Corps Marathon that I felt like I was able to find space to rest and breathe.

I began 2019 in South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I spent some time in Saint Louis for the United Methodist General Conference. I podcasted more than ever with my Crackers & Grape Juice team. Our church became a Reconciling congregation. I graduated from seminary and was commissioned as Provisional Elder. I went on vacation. I published two books. I met with United Methodist Leaders in Kansas City.

On top of all that, I wrote more than I ever had.

In 2019 our family traveled and played. Camden & Nora have grown like weeds. Sometimes it feels like Allison and I were outnumbered.

Early Wednesday morning, 2020 came rolling into town. Allison and I rang in the New Year with Andy and Anderson, live on CNN, from the comfort of our bedroom. We opted for pajamas and craft beer over fancy clothes and overpriced cocktails. It was lovely.

For many, 2020 is a year of hope, or rather, a year where many are looking for hope.

Whether it was the political turmoil driving a deeper divide in the United States or the pace at which we all seem to be moving, I for one was exhausted at the end of 2019. My hope for 2020 is to not only simplify things but also so more at a reasonable pace.

I have noticed a trend moving into 2020. Rather than looking for hope outside of ourselves - ie. new fad diets or fashion trends - many are looking to love as a source of hope in 2020. This isn’t love in the Romantic Comedy sense, but instead loving ourselves and loving one another.

We are enough. Sure, there are always ways we can tweak our day-to-day’s and live better, but the baseline starting point for everyone is this - you are enough, just as you are. The love you seek has been available to you by the Grace of God, regardless if you believe you deserve it, have said the correct prayer, or given money to a televangelist.

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
― John Lennon

I am finding hope in 2020 in my enoughness.

I am enough.

I am enough for my wife to love me.

I am enough in the eyes of my children.

I am enough in the eyes of God.

As a pastor, I tell this to people and rarely listen to the words for myself.

The Psalmist wrote, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in God’s word, I hope.” The beauty of searching for hope in a New Year is that a week prior to our late-night parties we welcomed the birth of Christ - “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”

Christ has entered our world, a light in the darkness, and we can find hope in God choosing to be with us, as we are, in our enoughness.

In 2020, you are enough.

You are enough for those who love you.

You are enough for those who depend on you.

You are enough in the eyes of God.

Leave the extreme life overhauls in 2019. Allow the hope you seek in a New Year to be rooted not in what you need to do but rather in who and what you already are. You are beloved. You are enough.