Guest post by Nancy Bartelt. When I was a kid, I loved taking the two-hour road trip south across the Wisconsin-Illinois border to visit my grandparents. As soon as we arrived at their house, I’d always be greeted with a warm hug, huge smiles, and curious questions about my life. And—almost every time—the best-mashed potatoes in the world.

The tensions and irreconcilable juxtapositions have purpose. Sometimes we receive glimpses of their gifts, but even if you never see their goodnesses this side of eternity, they do exist. Here’s my tribute to a year that could have taken me under, but I choose to see it for what it is on the flip side: blessing.