Forget 2020 and just move on? No so fast. Do this first

Each experience in our lives is meant to teach us something, to change us in some way. "2020." For the rest of our lives the mere mention of that fateful year will send a little chill down our spine. Every single person on this planet had life turned upside down and inside out by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now that 2020 is in the rear-view mirror, I think we have to ask the question: Is 2020 a year to forget?

I can imagine your answer is a resounding ‘yes!’ After all, the Apostle Paul’s life philosophy involved some intentional forgetting: "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal…" (Philippians 3:13-14).

There is a kind of forgetfulness that is good for us. It’s not healthy or productive for us to wallow in what last year could or should have been. So, yes, in this sense— forget 2020.

But, in another sense, we shouldn’t forget 2020. Each experience in our lives is meant to teach us something, to change us in some way. If we fail to learn the lesson, then the trials were all in vain.