Despite all that we are currently facing and all that we have endured in this abhorrent year, 2020, by the grace of God we have made it to December. As we all look back, even though we continue to endure hardship and turmoil, we still have lots to be thankful for, if only we take a minute to look.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this has been arguably one of the most challenging years that we have seen in modern history. This year has certainly tested our faith, shaken our resolve and affected the soundness of our minds, to say the least. It has tossed us out to the tempest in some instances and brought many of us to the brink of the precipice of life, clinging on to hope and fervently latching on to the very faith that once made us well, as we stared down the daunting, dark embers of defeat.
As December dawns anew, we hope amid turmoil and hardship that it may begin the birth of something new, that this may be the month when the tide eventually shifts and the lost sailors at sea may turn their faces toward land.
See, this year has ravaged us in more ways than one and left us reeling and grappling with the harsh effects of life’s too often callous reality. Oh, how this 2020 has shown us that when we bask in our purported peace and stability, in the blink of an eye, we can be exposed to calamity and made to face sudden destruction.
Our trials this year numbered many and came unabated and rampant. We were first plagued by the unrelenting effects of COVID-19 that not only has caused over 5,000 infections, but has racked up a staggering death toll of almost 150 to the present day. The effects of COVID-19 have crippled our economy and brought its activity to an almost screeching halt.
The ails that plague us were further exacerbated with an alarming poverty rate of well over fifty percent, coupled by a staggering statistic that shows in excess of 50,000 persons unemployed. To put it mildly, this year has been a nasty winter that has placed its full brunt on us, leaving us reeling from the effects of frostbite and hypothermia.
As if that were not enough, 2020 proved to us that lightning does (sometimes) strike the same place twice. This year saw a record-breaking number of hurricanes and storms that exposed our weak and sub-standard infrastructure, mandating us to revisit our climate resiliency plan.
We experienced the ravages of Hurricane Nana and Tropical Storm Eta that dumped incessant rains over the country, causing major floods and deluges that remain even today.
But all this aside, somehow, December offers us hope. And if we know anything about hope, it springs eternal. So as this year draws to an end, and as we beckon in a month that is the epiphany of hope and faith, we welcome December with renewed hopes and optimism, fervent spirit and goodwill that something new and amazing will be birthed from this month and will beckon in a better, more prosperous and promising year.
For all who are in despair and are losing hope, hold strong, stand firm and keep the faith. This December will cause things to spring anew and offer the hopes and blessings that we so badly need and desperately desire.
God Bless Belize!