How Making a List Might Help us Make it through 2020

We survived the first half of 2020, but we’re not sure about the second half. After all, resolutions made and goals set back in pre-COVID January have turned out to be … irrelevant. Making a list might make a difference in the rest of 2020. Not sure if it’s worth your time? Here’s a list of 10 reasons I think you might want to give it a try.

10 Reasons to Make a List in 2020

1. You don’t get to go on a vacation, so you have time.
2. All the news is bad, so you need something else to think about.
3. Without a lot of things you can control, a list will help you feel like there’s a few.
4. You accept you’re not going to learn a new language during lockdown; now what?
5. We’re pretending school will start as usual, so go ahead and make a list.
6. Most of us lost our 2020 calendar, so a list might help us snap back to reality.
7. We don’t get out much, so we can make a list while we’re home.
8. We’ve had practice making lists:  mask, hand sanitizer, tp, soap.
9. Without a list we might start to believe it’s Groundhog Day. Say this: “Today is …”
10. God used lists a lot, so maybe it will help us as since we’re only human.

Not sure about that last one? It’s true! God used lists of genealogies (Luke 3:23-38), showing how intentionally He planned out our lives. He used lists in Creation (Genesis 1), showing His care in shaping the world. He used lists in describing things like the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 2:19-21), the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), the characteristics of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7), the “clothing” of God’s holy people (Colossians 3:12-14), and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). Lists can be powerful. So what list would help you now?

10 Lists You Might Need Now

1. A list of what you have to be thankful for
2. A list of who needs to be encouraged around you
3. A list of why you love the one you’re with
4. A list of what it is about God that makes you worship Him
5. A list of what it is about life that makes you want to know God
6. A list of how to use your days to be productive and peaceful
7. A list of what words to use with others to bless and help them
8. A list of who you can call to say you need help in the 2^nd half of 2020
9. A list of what to say to God in prayer—the good, bad, and ugly (there’s a list!)
10. A list of how to stay on track when you’ve already gone off the rails

God has plans for us, even if we aren’t aware of His plan at work. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” (Ephesians 2:10). Even if we don’t acknowledge God’s good plan to use 2020 in our life, He still has the plan to do it.

Here’s a list I’m holding on to right now for 2020 Part 2.

10 Basic Things to Get Through 2020

1. Get enough sleep, but not too much
2. Go outside to get sunshine and smell fresh air
3. Get up and move; sweating a little means it was good
4. Give to someone else; start with my family and then globally
5. Glean from voices of reason, insight, and truth; filter others
6. Grow spiritually daily; read the Bible, pray, and listen to music
7. Get myself and my house in order daily
8. Grin at people even when (especially when) social distancing
9. Glorify God in these circumstances with these resources
10. Gut it out in the good things and let the others go

So what if we make a list and the rest of the year is just more of “2020?” No matter what the rest of this year looks like, we can be confident, “That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 1:6). 

We’re on “God’s list” of good work to complete. No matter what the coming months bring, He intends for us to grow and move forward in becoming the individuals He plans for us to be. Earthly events can not derail God’s heavenly plans to use this year to draw us to Himself to know Him and know his plan for our life.