Journalism is one of my favorite disciplines of writing. There’s something about the concoction of fact-finding and storytelling that makes the profession so exciting. If I wasn’t someone who craved a rural lifestyle I think I would thrive with a career in broadcast or print media, but I enjoy quiet streets and a town that shuts down promptly at 6 P.M. a little too much to make it in a metropolitan area.
I’d imagine 2020 has been a bittersweet year for the folks in the world of news. On one hand, there has been a slew of breaking stories to keep things exciting. This year has taken journalists (and all of us, really) on a rollercoaster, through some of the highest highs and lowest lows. On the other, those highs and lows seem to fluctuate daily and I can only imagine how exhausting it’s been trying to keep one finger on the pulse of the world and another on the “publish” button.
Though my degree was in agriculture I made myself a sort of pseudo-communications double major with the electives and minor I took in college, and my journalism courses were some of my favorites. The first thing you learn in any good (or mediocre) journalism class is the importance of interrogative words to building a strong story. Also known as the 5 W’s, “who, what, when, where, and why” give you everything you need to construct the foundation to a standout piece of writing.
For just a minute, let’s grab our press badge and put this rouge year under the microscope of the 5 W’s. The first one is easy: Who was affected? All of us. Duh.
What happened? We’ve been living with 2020 for 11 months, so I think we all know her pretty well by now.
When? Self-explanatory.
Where? Yes.
Why?
I’ve always thought kids would make outstanding reporters, especially the annoying ones. They’re usually the most curious: “Why is the sky blue? Why do tigers have stripes? Why does hair grow? Why do I have to go to bed?” If you’ve ever been around the “why” kid for very long, you know that the dumb questions with no real answers are especially the worst; He’ll keep asking and asking until you finally tell him “I don’t know!” while silently feeling like an idiot because you couldn’t tell a 4-year-old why horses don’t wear pants. (This is a true story, by the way.)
There’s a little bit of the “why” kid in us all. As humans, we come out preprogrammed to ask “why” when we’re unsure in a situation and need context. It’s a healthy trait that helps us evolve into adults that can gather information to make reasonable decisions. But we also can lean on it a little too much from time to time to legitimize what is happening, and we find ourselves looking for an answer or a reason around every corner. Then, when there isn’t a reason we want to know why not.
Has 2020 been like this for you? I know it has been for me, at times. To say the year was a complete wash would not be the case but there have definitely been some days that have been harder than others. I’m someone who thinks with a sort of domino-effect mindset, wanting to rationalize every event with a cause and effect. In times like this year, though, it becomes evident very quickly that there is no reason at all. I know some of you have struggled for plenty of reasons this year and I’m not depreciating that one bit, but you and I both know that there are all kinds of “whys” that come in many seasons of life, not just 2020.
Why the layoff?
Why the car accident?
Why going broke?
Why cancer?
We want to stand in the rain with our fists to the sky, hearts screaming “Why, God? Why this?” We get angry, or scared. Maybe both. It’s bad enough that these things happen, but to walk across the coals for what seems like no reason is what really beats us down. I can remember the times in my life when I’ve been asking some of those difficult “whys”, and as the tears stream down my cheeks I started to question if this was really God’s best.
Of course, to know God is to trust Him, but no one ever said that was always an easy thing to do. Even Mary had a difficult time believing that she was truly fit to be the mother to Jesus. We know that when Gabriel the angel told her what role she would play in the birth of Christ (and spoiler alert, it’s a big one), she didn’t jump at the chance or view the situation as some sort of holy resume builder. In fact, in Luke 1 she questions Gabriel’s greeting as if to ask “Are you sure it should be me? Are you sure I am the one?” (My last blog talks about Gabriel's tidings in more detail. Read it here!)
“And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” -Luke 1:29-35
Gabriel goes on the explain just how important the child she will give birth to truly will be, and reassures her that God’s plan is one worth following. Then, with very little hesitation, Mary confidently announces that she’s all in, a sort of verbal biblical handshake.
In this season and in any, I think we can all admire and aspire to have more blind trust in God, just as Mary did. We often spend so much time asking “Why this?” and “Why that?” that we start to undermine whatever He is building for us. Mary could not have predicted the sort of path she would go down, but she blindly trusted and jumped in with both feet.
As I mentioned earlier, blindly trusting God is something easier said than done, and I think trying to find answers to our “whys” can bring us a certain amount of situational awareness so being curious does serve its purpose. I wish there was more in the Bible about Mary’s thoughts during the months she carried Jesus. It’s a part of the nativity that’s sort of glossed over, and I’d be interested to know what “whys” she had- I’m sure she had some.
Distancing yourself from your “whys” and hopping in the car with God for his road trip can take quite a few twists and turns you aren’t prepared for, especially when you don’t have a map. It’s sort of like when you’re extra tired but are trying to stay awake: you know it’s no good to stay up when you’re already falling asleep but if you consciously focus on staying alert, you’ll never let yourself completely doze off. Forcing yourself to ask “why” and rationalize everything cruddy that happens is a little bit like forcing yourself to stay awake- It’s just no good.
As a related side note, my least favorite saying in the entire world is “Everything happens for a reason!” I’m not a violent person but the next bubbly, disgustingly-positive person I hear say that will be getting punched in the jaw. It’s a two-fold, accidental insult: First, it completely ignores that you’re allowed to be uncomfortable with the situation. Secondly, it assumes that everything does happen for a reason, which is not always entirely true. And trying to find that reason will dump you back into a cynical cycle of asking “why” all over again.
Think of some of the “whys” you’ve been asking yourself. Here are a few I’ve heard from people lately:
“Why don’t I get a normal senior year?”
“Why did I lose my job?”
“Why am I not married yet?”
“Why has this year been so hard?”
Write them down. All of your “whys” and curiosities. Stare at them for a while and acknowledge how you feel about these things. They just plain suck. Then, crumple them up and throw them away. Expecting answers to life’s biggest questions will leave you directionless and cranky. Let go of the idea that you have to be the journalist preparing to cover life’s crappiest moments, that you need to rationalize everything that happens. You can’t. Hand the press badge back to God and hang on tight for the ride- you might not be able to see what’s next but you and I know that soon it’s going to get good.
