Share Four Somethings: 2022 in Review

Inside: Favorite books, most-viewed blog posts, lessons my daughters taught me and a cross section of blessings from the past 12 months.

Where did the year go? I feel like I’ve said this about the previous month in almost every Share Four Somethings post I’ve done this year, and it is equally relevant when I look at 2022 as a whole.

So much has happened this year. The world seems like a different place than it did even six months ago, and I often don’t know what to think about that.

Fortunately, we don’t have to have an opinion about everything, nor are we obligated to listen to anyone who does. Instead, I’ve tried to make Psalm 43:3 a frequent prayer—for myself and my loved ones: “Send your light and your truth; let them lead me.”

It’s a petition that God has been faithful to answer, even when His answer simply illuminates the very next step.

In this edition of Share Four Somethings, I’m changing the headings a bit to reflect what’s on my mind and heart these days. I’m not sure what this feature is going to look like in 2023, but whatever form it takes, it will always begin with …

• Something Loved

Baking. Yellowstone National Park. Watching my girls become who God made them to be.

I could name many more, but this seems like a good cross section of blessings that were so very apparent in 2022.

• Something Learned

How to make an Instagram reel

My girl Molly came through in a pinch for me a few months ago when she coded the preview box that now sits atop every blog post. (She plans to major in computer science in college; clearly, her brain works differently than mine.)

For her 18^th birthday, I wanted to make an Instagram reel featuring her senior pictures. I’d never made a reel before, so we sat down together and she taught me how to do it, step by step. (She plans to minor in education, which is another perfect fit for her.)

I’m not going to start making reels willy nilly, but it was fun to celebrate her in this way. If you’re on Instagram, you can see the reel here.

How to run harder

When I ran with Lilly last summer, I often complained about how slow I was, how hard it is to run when it’s hot, how I wasn’t making any progress, etc.

“Winter gains are made during summer runs,” she’d say.

I don’t track my times in any organized fashion, but throughout the fall, it felt like I’d gotten slower, not faster, since the summer.

Then, when Lilly came home for Thanksgiving and we hit the trail together, I ran faster than I ever have. She set the pace, which makes a huge difference.

The following week, she was back at school and I was back to my plodding ways.

I’ve realized something, though. It used to be that going faster at any given point along the way never seemed to be an option. Now, if I want to make it to the next tree before a song ends on my AirPods, I can kick it up a notch or two without feeling like I’m about to expire.

Lilly was right.

My overall running time isn’t that much different than it used to be. But due to those grueling (for me) summer runs, I have more in reserve. Now I can confidently say that if there was a bear chasing me (or perhaps an elderly dog), I would be able to dig in and perhaps get to safety before he nipped at my shoes.

• Something Written

When I look back to see which blog posts got the most views over the last 12 months, I notice the bedrock theological truth of God’s sovereignty is a theme in three of the top five. Two of the five also address personal aspects of aging that I wasn’t sure would be relevant to anyone else.

Turns out, they actually were. Which goes to show, you never know what part of your story is going to speak to someone else in a way you never expected.

The most-viewed posts of the year, in ascending order, are:

5. Praise the Lord, Come What May

4. God is With Us on the Long Walk Home

3. The Most Important Truth about Covid

2. When It’s Hard to Make a Helpful Change

1. One Word 2022: The Dawn of a New Year

• Something Read

A few years ago, I started writing down the books I read in a little floral notebook. Nothing comprehensive—just the title, author and date finished. It’s been a good incentive to stick with books I might have given up on before (although I still quit after few chapters from time to time).

It’s also been fun to go back and think about favorite books and why they meant something to me at the time.

The thing about books—which becomes even more apparent to me as time goes by—is that a title that is deeply meaningful to one person might be the worst thing someone else has ever read. This could be due to timing, personal preference, life experience or any number of other factors.

As I’m fond of saying, books are like avocadoes. You either like them or you don’t.

I’ve read 42 books so far this year. Many were fiction (or, as my husband calls them, Russian romances). I don’t think a single one was set in Russia, but the point is that they’re solely for entertainment.

I read nonfiction too, of course. Memoirs, plus books about cultural and political topics, gardening, aging, that sort of thing.

Those titles dominate the following list of my favorite books of 2022. I mentioned several in other blog posts; those links are included.

Garden Maker: Growing a Life of Beauty and Wonder with Flowers by Christie Purifoy. She writes beautifully about peonies, and so much more.

Good Prose: The Art of Non-fiction—Stories and Advice from a Lifetime of Writing and Editing by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd. I enjoyed this so much I devoted an entire post to it. Read more here.

Old Friends by Tracy Kidder. A tender account of the lives and interactions of two men who are roommates in a nursing home in western Massachusetts. I’m guessing not everyone will love this one, but I did.

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan. The only novel to make my list of favorites. Click here to find out why.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. I didn’t write about this one, but I’ve pondered it a great deal since I read it in October. If you have older parents, or you’re getting older yourself, I highly recommend.

• • •

I’m taking a break next week but will be back here Jan. 3, hopefully with a post about my word for 2023. In the meantime, please share in the comments about your favorites from the past 12 months—books, songs, quotes, experiences, lessons, you name it. And have a blessed Christmas, one and all!

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Share Four Somethings, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth