Barbie Car Wipeout

We circled 2020 long before COVID cracked it wide open. This would be the year when our car’s regular seating assignments changed. Once my daughter got her driving permit in February, we ventured out to drive in slow circles around the neighborhood. 

Then, when COVID kept most people off the roads in March and April, we took advantage of the open spaces to get some serious--and safe--practice in. The more comfortable she got with driving, the more comfortable we got just riding along, eventually even having some fun with it. 

For example, one afternoon in May, instead of walking down to the basement, I just sent her a text from the upstairs loft. I needed to go to the store, and I asked if she wanted to drive. She said “yes,” of course, because she took every opportunity that came up. So, I playfully replied with the following GIF:

I could hear her laugh two stories away.

Six months later, my daughter and I were waiting outside of swim practice, reliving that story and laughing at that GIF once more till our sides started to hurt. In the middle of a crazy, broken year, we had a couple good moments around a Barbie Car Wipeout that we’ll remember forever. 

Today, I’m back in the parking lot outside the pool waiting… for both my daughter to finish swimming and to finally kick 2020 to the curb. Part of me is so very ready to move on. I just want to be done. And yet, staring down new COVID restrictions with the holiday season around the corner, I’m asking a question of myself. “Can the rest of this year somehow be redeemed?”

Granted, the year wasn’t all bad. I will look back on 2020 and see awful disruption and disease, but also some amazing moments and memories. Busted vacations vs. a bargain pop up camper that took us to the mountains. Virtual learning headaches vs. Restoration Project’s expeditions with my kids this summer. Competing zoom calls at home vs. a weekend escape with my wife earlier this fall. 

Mostly though, in the lackluster landscape of normal, I have survived. Endured. Hung in there. Wandered, sleepwalking through the seasons. But I’m still here… and still have about 40 days of 2020 left. Is there still one more win left in this year for me? 

Talking this through with a couple of friends confirmed it. I want to leave 2020 with one less regret and one more memory, and I still have a say in how this plays out. But, if my past experience has taught me anything, without intervention and a bit of focus, this year will likely be just another wild ride on the pink Barbie Car, ending in a dazzling wipeout. 

What, then, is that untamed opportunity left in 2020 for me? In contrast to the months of mindless meandering, I want to unwrap a deeper sense of awareness. This is NOT my status quo. I barely know where to start.

Sitting on the porch of a friend the other day, I asked him what it meant to be self aware. He actually had an answer, which shocked me, further proving my lack of self awareness. “Consider others. How does what you do affect them?” 

Deep breath. That feels daunting. Scary. And right. It feels like Jesus is asking me to take a step with Him and look at the way my life makes a difference in the people around me. 

Will you ask yourself a similar question? How can 2020 be redeemed in these final days? I believe it has one more win in it for all of us. Maybe it’s writing a note to someone, a zoom call with close friends you need to set up, or turning and looking into the face of someone you love. Don’t let the opportunity slip by. Turn the dial of intentionality up one degree and see what happens. 

So 2020, the year of the dazzling wipeout, here I come. 40 more days to engage awareness. For the win. 

Bart Lillie 
Restoration Project Chief Catalyst