Lessons from the pandemic: 'The class of 2020 were not forgotten by God'

As she starts university, Grace Moir looks back at how God stood by her during uncertain school years.

The class of 2020, my class, is sometimes referred to as the ‘Covid cohort’, or even the ‘forgotten class’.

When my peers and I were due to sit our GCSE exams the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in teacher-assessed grades as opposed to exam results. It was an uncertain time, as the tests that we had spent five years studying for suddenly changed and the usual festivities and celebrations that mark the end of term were cancelled along with them. It would have been easy to feel disappointed, frustrated, even heartbroken.

Like many corps during the pandemic, my corps had moved online, and we were all trying to do our part to provide worship content that would bless our fellowship. My family and I were asked to record the song ‘Goodness of God’ by Bethel Music, a song that really resonated with me. The lyrics speak of the importance of rejoicing in God’s goodness and trusting in his plan for our lives and the joy we can find when we put our trust in him.

At the time, though, the song seemed hard to believe. How could God use these moments to shape my life in a positive way? How was it possible to trust him with what lay ahead when the whole world was surrounded by such uncertainty and fear?

One of my favourite lines in the song repeats over and over: ‘Your goodness is running after me.’ This reminded me that there is nowhere I can go where God’s goodness and love cannot find me. Even the Covid cohort, the forgotten class, were not forgotten by him.

Now, in 2022, I have completed my A-levels (I actually got to sit the exams!) and I have been accepted to study at my top-choice university to become a teacher. The uncertainty and struggles of the past three years, although worrying, taught me that there is always a way for God to use me and bless me, even when I’m not sure what will happen next.

In those times of anxiety and the unknown it was a real comfort to know that I could put my faith in a faithful God who would always use me for his good and wonderful plan. Romans 8:28 says: ‘In all things God works for the good of those who love him.’ We cannot always see it, but we do have to trust it.

As I enter a new chapter in my academic journey, I am glad to go into it proud of what I have overcome, grateful to God for his goodness and confident in my faith that the God who loves me and rejoices in my happiness has never failed me and will not start to do so now.

I will continue to sing of the goodness of God at every stage of my educational journey and continue to pray for people who are also progressing into a new academic phase, that they too can rejoice in the goodness of God.

Perhaps the class of 2020 should be referred to as the ‘courageous cohort’.