Building Strong, Young Lives in 2021

A very happy new year, everyone! 

It’s safe to say that we all have come into 2021 with a variety of hopes and expectations. If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know these past ten months have been a tumultuous ride! For all of us, we’ve experienced (whether firsthand or were witness to) the devastation of lives lost, jobs taken away, and dreams shattered. We all began 2020 with our normal expectations and plans and then were steadily startled by how many disappointments that year held. 

Looking back at 2020 for SSYO, which also started as a year of dreams and goals for us, it's hard not to feel disappointed with all of the finish lines not crossed. We started last year with a new blog and tons of dreams. We wanted the blog to keep our community up to date as we embarked upon new programs, new training, and overall improvements. If you have been occasionally peeking at our blog, you know that those dreams did not go according to plan. We’re assuming all of your dreams did not go according to plan, either.

One of the many wonders of the human spirit is that we’re resilient."

However, one of the many wonders of the human spirit is that we’re resilient. We have a terrible year of disappointments; anger and fear swirl around us and we think to ourselves, ‘Well, tomorrow could be better!’ We start the day fresh and try again. Which is exactly what SSYO set out to do with the twists and turns of last year. You watched as we tried lots of new things with varying levels of success and you cheered us on as we did. You helped us finish all those lovely races. Thanks! Seriously, thank you.

Yet as we sit on the threshold of this enticing new year, we have stumbled onto the finish line and into a strange sense of waiting. The world is still holding its breath to see what will happen next with those super minor things like politics, health, and economics! It’s hard not to wonder if it is worth the pain of realizing more disappointed dreams. 
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Therefore, the question becomes: how do we stay the course during challenges? 

At this crucial time in history, when all the world is still reeling and waiting to see what will happen next, we have decided to reflect on who we are to decide who we will become. We believe that knowing our identity sets us up for a life of confidence. No matter what the circumstance is, we know there is always room to continue our mission while there is still need. 

We find our identity in our core values and pillars. They’re listed below in our beautiful graphic format and you can peruse them at your leisure. These are what inform how we go about building strong, young lives and what inspire us to keep moving forward! So, for each month this year, we will be talking about one of these values or pillars of SSYO in our goal to inspire ourselves and our readers as we walk out this thing called life. 

We pray that you and your family find a peace and joy in this new year, not just from improved circumstances, but from the joy of knowing who you are and what you are made to do! The secret to life is really found in knowing that our happiness doesn’t come from a good or bad year but the realization that life is full of good and bad days and in between all of it is grace, love and laughter. 
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Happy New Year! 

Jessica Mathias-Henderson

Is the Development Coordinator for Southside Youth Outreach. She loves Jesus, exploring with her husband, and reading poetry over a hot cup of tea. 

To contact her, you can email her at Jessica.h@ssyocorvallis.org