The meme reads: The moment you realize that 2022 sounds just like “2020 too.”

More and more, this meme seems like a bad joke come true. COVID has opened the year in full steam, breaking the daily count for so many places, and with even friends and family falling as victims. Has our joyfulness and hopefulness been suddenly cut short?

I asked the kids to pose with their best “Oh, no!” faces to personalize this meme. Instead of a panic-scared look, theirs showcased a playful mug. I guess that was their happiness streak, as the very gradual autumn-winter shift had allowed for lots of nature trips and us time.

The kids are right. Maybe, we have opened the year looking too far ahead that we have forgotten to even be thankful, and the ominous “2020 too” has snapped our own happiness streaks.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”.

Matthew 14:30

That “2020 too” moment may well be the moment Peter stopped walking on water.

Our preoccupation with problems, like Peter’s preoccupation with the wind and the waves – could cause us to lose courage, and forget God’s power.

Let us refocus on who is far bigger and greater.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Jesus, John 14:27

That “2020 too” moment should be the moment we realize that we need a peace that is more than what the world, or vaccines, or science, or technology can offer. We need God’s peace.

The apostles may not have been sure what to make of it when Jesus first talked about His peace, but it definitely changed them when He said it again. Jesus did not say “Peace be with you” while on the cross and in anguish. He said it upon entering their locked quarters, fresh out of the grave and very much alive (John 20:19).

Should it really be “2020 too,” or even worse, God will pull us through in Christ Jesus. He has proven that beyond death.