This is the last week of the year. It is somewhat of an arbitrary end and beginning. Of course there have been and are other calendars used, but this is the current general calendar. So the end of the year is agreed to be Friday, and the beginning of the new year is agreed to be Saturday.
The endings of things are a mixture of grieving and celebration. Because of so many huge problems in 2021, we might have a Wizard of Oz kind of reaction - The wicked witch is dead. We've all slogged through a pandemic, likely said goodbyes to people we loved, watched in horror as violence rose, been extremely concerned over the rise of Marxism (wokeism, cancel culture, declining free speech, deterioration of free press, artificial divisions of people, etc). We hope and pray those dreadful things end with the end of the year. Whether they stay in 2021 or come along into 2022 has a lot to do with what we do. Courage and faith are needed to face down evil.
Let's imagine for a moment what a more wonderful 2022 might be like. For me, common sense, critical thinking and integrity become "the in thing," the sought after stance, the thing praised and raised up as ideals. We are able to look at choices and discern what the likely outcomes would be for each, and then chose the one that is the most likely to bring positive results. We are able to look propaganda and spin in the face and laugh as we walk away from it.
We stand as free people who care about freedom. We love one another and have compassion. We deepen our faith in The Divine Presence and focus on that most important relationship. We are the people God created us to be, aware we are doing all things in the presence of that Presence.
Let it be so.