Recent weeks have been a beautiful blur of church renovation, my birthday, our 34th wedding anniversary, and an election that has me walking around perpetually outside my comfort zone.

Seems my brain really craves clarity, y’all.

My faith family has been one of the few steady constant realities in an unsteady year. I mean, I knew when I sat down way back the first week of January to seek the Lord, that I was not getting the feeling that this was going to be “my best year yet”. I was not getting the sense {at. all.} that the coming four quarters were going to be full of roses and rainbows and one wild success after another.

Yet, in a way, it has been the best year. The whole world, in pretty much one day, has figured out that small church is far from small thinking. Everyone has figured out that home schooling mamas are freaking superheroes (you’re welcome, grown children). Everyone has figured out that running a business online is super-smart, and that gathering in person is the most important thing we forgot we needed.

it has been at the very least, for me, a year full of a dear daughter’s dahlias, a double rainbow at a backyard pandemic wedding, and two sold-out art collections. “Roses”, rainbows, and one wild success after another after all. Oh, and the addition of nine chickens and one very handsome, ornery rooster.

And death and taxes and a brown recluse spider bite. Well played, 2020.

Meet Cogburn the rooster. He lives at my daughter Hannah’s house (next door). He’s moody, but we chalk that up to puberty.

So here we are, almost mid-November. And some would say, in terms of election results, pandemic projections, and whether a bandana over your nose and mouth literally saves lives, that we all have very little clarity.

I can’t let this year pass without one token picture of my life-saving pink Belgian linen mask. When I first got it, I felt upscale. Sort of like when I buy a shirt from Anthro instead of Target. But now it is November, my give a damn is busted, and I may cut up some of the Preacher’s old t-shirts.

Can I tell you where I am finding clarity?

I’m doing a study, in the Bible, of the word “know”.

Friends, there are some things we can know.

There is still lots of clarity to be had. In fact, getting clear on what matters most is creating clarity in every area of my life.

Turns out, hindsight is NOT 2020. Insight is. Spiritual insight is everything.