Sometimes the familiar is better than the novel and the previous better than the new. In this last Lunchtime Musing for 2020, would you read again or read for the first time, what I think are the most significant posts I wrote in 2020 for our church and for your life? They appear in the order they were written.
Our grandson is now a one-year-old. Shortly after his birth, I wrote The Kind of Grandpa I Want (and don’t want) to Be. While this is a very personal muse, I think you will find it helpful to you if you’re a grandparent or not.
Almost forgotten in the disarray of 2020 are the tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and the seven others aboard the helicopter that slammed into a California hillside, January 26, 2020. Days later I penned, We Only Have Minutes to Live. If 2020 has taught us anything, it has taught us the fragility of life and how quickly all of life can change.
One month into stay-at-home orders, growing uncertainty about COVID-19, and exploding numbers of infections, I claimed, To Recover Is Christ, To Die from Coronavirus Is Gain. As people who will battle the pull of this life until the day we die, this may be the most important devotional I wrote in 2020. Now that we have nearly a full year of the coronavirus in our rear view, you will benefit from revisiting this post.
In July I turned 55. “How’s it going?” you ask. Well, I’m glad I’m not yet 56. I wrote a series of articles about lessons learned over the years. The Error of a Christian Husband is one I am reading again for my own benefit. It is about as transparent as I can be.
Titles are critical in a world flush with digital information. Sometimes I spend nearly as much time thinking of a title for a post as I do editing a post. The fact is you are more likely to read a Lunchtime Musing if the title grabs you. PG-13 is a story about a woman and man who are more than best friends or soulmates; it is a story about lovers and is my favorite piece of the year. I hope you smile when you read it again or for the first time.
If you read one or all of my weekly posts, thank you for reading. I write with two audiences in mind — my children and our church. My hope is my writing challenges you, educates you, inspires you, and sometimes, just makes you smile as you think about our Lord on a given day.
Your time is valuable. That you give a few minutes to me to read my thoughts is humbling.
2021 will be here soon, and I plan to write weekly. Is there an idea you’d like me to address or question you’d like me to answer? I’ll do my best to add it to the list.
As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision