2020 Brought Us Together in Anticipation for a New Year
by Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director – United Way of Charlotte County
The anticipation of Christmas morning for a child is almost impossible to match. There was one Christmas, however, that my own anticipation far surpassed that of an eager little girl eyeing a pile of gifts under the tree.
Being pregnant later in life, after experiencing three miscarriages, my fourth pregnancy was full of anxiety and emotions. Our precious baby was due in January, but December brought with it an order of bed rest. Waiting and anticipating was just about all I could do until Baby Matthiessen was ready to join our family.
The memories I have surrounding that Christmas will stay with me forever. The decorations, lights and music all filled my senses. And in perfect serendipity, our daughter Leah was born in December and came home on Christmas Day, fourteen years ago. The greatest gift I ever received, no doubt.
After a rollercoaster of emotions throughout 2020, you might be anticipating a host of old and new this year - special traditions with your family updated, a time of spiritual reverence, or the possibilities that await in the New Year. One certainty is that this year has connected all of us, even if in just a small way.
I ask you to consider the families in Charlotte County, many who have had their hope deferred for years on end. Women, men, parents – all anticipating so many things every day. Some anticipation for good things to come and some anticipation of the next pitfall of life that is impossible to avoid when you live paycheck to paycheck.
How does poverty really feel? What does it feel like to not have choices; to want something so badly that is always out of reach? There is no doubt in my mind and heart that these parents have the same hopes and wishes for their family that I did with mine.
I venture to say that I along with many of you reading this today have made choices and formed a path with intention. Perhaps, after COVID-19 forced us all down the same path, you are feeling the spark of hope and anticipation for a new day. Certainly 2020 has leveled the emotional playing field ever so slightly. This is a beautiful community we live in, filled with hope and yet so much hopelessness. Can’t we all relate at least a little to what others, our ALICE families, feel on a daily basis?
What will 2021 bring? We all have the ability to take that one thing we have to give and choose to make a better day for someone else – whether with time, talent or treasure. The harvest is ripe, anticipation everywhere, just like that of a little girl at Christmas. Just like I felt in those days leading up to Leah‘s birth. While we are breathing, we each have a choice for how we can handle this waiting.
Our staff choose a word at the start of each year. We share and discuss these words and then commit to that focus for the entirety of the year. Last week we announced our new words --- the overwhelming theme: joy – happiness – perseverance – faith – gratitude.
What will you do in 2021 to offer hope to someone else? As long as I am breathing and most definitely while able to serve this community I love, I will long for hope glorified and magnified. That you and you and you will feel the comfort and love of someone who cares. Will you join me in the coming days to offer that one thing only you can offer – you pick and then let me know?
For more information, please call the United Way of Charlotte County at 941-627-3539. Mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty. Angie Matthiessen is the Executive Director of United Way of Charlotte County. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.