2022 In our first whole week of the new year, I have to admit how little I remembered about the last one, 2021 is a blur.

To be more accurate, how difficult it was for me to distinguish memories of 2021 from those of 2020. It's been a weird run, to say the least.

It seems forever ago, but 2021 lays claim to the disruption of global trade.

A massive cargo ship got lodged in the Suez Canal, a first-time event, leading to a six-day effort involving a dozen tugboats, under the watchful eye of worldwide media outlets. On the bright side, millions of people around the globe learned the Suez Canal is in Egypt as it became one of the most-searched items on Google last March.

And while the story had a happy ending, it wasn't any easier to explain than the bottled water and toilet paper shortage that took place a year earlier.

A little later in the year, that search was outpaced by a considerable uptick in searches for how to say "I love you" in sign language as BTS and many other K-pop stars began incorporating sign language into their choreography.

According to Google, the world searched "love you in sign language" more than ever in 2021.

Additionally, the world was abuzz with concerns over extreme weather, from widespread fires to floods in the U.S. and abroad.

Throw in a solid dose of the turbulent social and political arenas, that we found ourselves in over the past year, and maybe your memory will get a little fuzzy, too.

One thing I can say for sure, though: none of this has caught the God of this universe by surprise.

We just celebrated Christmas, a recalling of a world-changing event which took place more than 2,000 years ago.

The world was steeped in chaos at the time.

Thousands of people in dozens of nations were living under oppressive regimes.

These people were forced to pay taxes to their oppressors while trying to outrun imprisonment, enslavement, cruelly harsh punishment and even sometimes ordered to surrender their children to be slaughtered by evil and corrupt regional leaders.

So, if you're inclined to look back and think, 'this is the worse it's ever been,' you may want to count your many blessings before saying it aloud.

During 2021, most (at least in America) had enough to eat that we could share some with those who didn't have enough.

Most of us had a place to call home, the opportunity for a job to pay for it and more than enough to wear as the weather threw us its curve balls throughout the year.

Let's enter 2022 consciously aware of all we have to be thankful for. Maybe, just maybe, we'll look up to see it's actually the best it's ever been.

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