Every year, as the year unfolds, I try to keep track of the most important lessons of that year. My intention is to learn those lessons and carry them into the next year. Here are the three most important things I learned in 2021.

Lesson 1: What worked in one season may not work in another

Miraculous provision during the 2020 lockdowns gave way to a much more purposeful seed planting approach in 2021 for Converge Coaching. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut, thinking-wise.

What worked last year might not be as effective this year. Accept that, and start innovating.

Lesson 2: Real unity is active not passive

Unity matters. Psalms 133 unpacks the amazing benefits of organizational (or even family) unity. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.”

Unity doesn’t materialize out of thin air. We have to cultivate it. We all need to be reminded to avoid triangulating when we’ve been hurt or offended by another person. Human nature takes away from Jesus’ simple solution in Matthew 18: “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Unity has to be contended for. It requires uncomfortable conversations to be had, wrapped in love and respect.

Lesson 3: Major success and major challenges often run in parallel

Christ’s birth was a mixture of awesomeness and horribleness. There were angelic announcements to shepherds, the arrival of the magi . . . and then you had King Herod, who ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two.

The highs of 2021 were high . . . and the lows were pretty low! I’m wondering today if this is perhaps the normal course of life, If we don’t understand this third lesson, life will be a rollercoaster of emotions. We’ll vacillate between hope and despair, joy and sorrow.

What were the most important things you learned in 2021? Let those lessons sink deeply into your mind and heart, and carry them forward into 2022. I don’t want to take another lap around these same three mountains in 2022. I want the lessons learned last year to propel me into this year—and we genuinely want the same for you.