The Goodsell Family

It’s a clear, sunny afternoon. The light breeze blowing the daffodils and green leaves on the trees begins to die down, and things become quiet—maybe a little too quiet. Gray clouds begin to form in the distance and you check the weather forecast on your watch. A storm is brewing quickly and you have little time to prepare or plan for safety. The warm air begins to feel chilly on your skin, and you already see faint strikes of lightning in the distance. At this point, you could run home and warn everyone, but they’ve likely gotten the alerts on their devices as well. They know and will respond as they see fit. All the signs are there for a nasty storm, and there’s no escaping this one. Raindrops start to fall, and those billowing gray clouds have quickly turned to monstrous spinners in the sky. The storm could be miles away, but it’s approaching quickly. Thunder shakes the ground as you begin to run home, and before you know it, your vision is blurred by the hail, winds, and darkness. Your cries for help can’t be heard by loved ones because they’re also caught in the storm. You wonder how things turned from calm to chaos so quickly and you pray that your loved ones are safe. The disastrous storm strikes with a vengeance. It destroys the daffodils, the leaves, the trees, and people’s homes for miles. Before you know it, you’re sucked in. Your life flashes like lightning and crashes to the ground like thunder. Blackout.

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I love having two sons. I know very little about being a parent or being a good mom, but God uses these little boys daily as my tiny teachers, reminders, and perspective checkers. Praying, being joyful, and reading God’s Word have been my biggest reminders from them lately.

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2021–it was a great year overall, and it went by so quickly! While I reflected on some of the tough realities of this year in my previous post, it was only a fraction of the other pieces of the year, which were wonderful.

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Thinking back over the last couple of years, I feel that 2021 was a tougher year for us than was 2020. While in some ways 2020 felt isolating, we didn’t let the world circumstances dictate how we spent our time, chose our attitudes, or found things to be grateful for. I’m a firm believer that keeping the proper perspective can successfully get you through anything, no matter how difficult, and ultimately, God’s faithfulness never changes. Maybe our 2020 didn’t feel as isolating because many of our circumstances, even if difficult, paralleled what many of our family, friends, and much of society was facing at the time. Many of us had our schools shut down, many had our job hours and location change, many of us had more time at home, many of us were trying to figure out what to do with our kids when even playgrounds were closed. There was a certain feel of “togetherness” that became stronger during that year. Maybe it didn’t feel as isolating because January 2020 kicked off another pregnancy for us, so a precious human was growing inside of me for majority of the year. As physically tiring many days were, there was still the excitement of a new life. Even behind a mask, I was still able to talk to, learn from, and interact with doctors and nurses, some of my favorite individuals. In September of 2020, our handsome second son was born—another miracle! The newborn stage was still a bit lonely, but that was ok. We had a lot of time to spend as a family and growing in our relationships with each other and with the Lord.

It’s hard to believe that 2021 is almost to a close—and while it has been another awesome year of life, of God’s love and mercies, and of great new memories made, what a strange, and somewhat confusing year it has been too.

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