Christmas 2020
Contract Lumber Family,
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Matthew 2:10
2020 has been a challenging year for us all. As individuals, as a business, and as a country, we have seen the world seemingly flip upside down. And every time we think we may be through the worst of it? 2020 throws something else at us that we could never have anticipated.
But believe it or not, there has also been a lot of good in 2020. I have seen the good in families sacrificing to protect each other. I have seen it in businesses innovating to meet new demands. I have seen it in teachers continuing to educate our kids even when they can’t be in the classroom. I have seen it in the extra effort of passersby trying to smile with their eyes when their mouths are hidden by a mask.
However, there is no place I have seen the good of 2020 more than here at Contract Lumber. From the beginning of this strangest of years I have witnessed the commitment of this company to provide for each other and our customers. We have not only continued to work through this year, but we have continued to see our business grow. That doesn’t just reflect us selling more wood; it shows that we have adapted. It shows that our customers trust us to care for them even when everything feels uncertain. It shows that we have supported each other.
So 2020 hasn’t left me feeling defeated. Instead, 2020 has left me full of hope. And while the news makes me confident our world will be back up and running soon, my hope doesn’t lie there. Instead, my hope lies in the good of this Contract Lumber family. My hope lies in knowing that we are all going to be stronger because of what we have endured this year. My hope lies in knowing that a new year, a fresh start, lies ahead and that if we can be this good through all we have endured, we will be great through whatever comes next.
Every individual in this family has contributed to our success this year. I hope you take some time this holiday to appreciate what we have accomplished as a team and what you have accomplished on your own. Take time to see the good and be grateful for how 2020 has revealed what we are capable of.
As a small token of our appreciation for the extraordinary efforts put in this year, we made our annual Christmas bonus a little extra special. You deserve it along with the most heartfelt thanks for being what makes this Contract Lumber family great.
God bless each of you and your families and Merry Christmas.
Jim Bieser
“...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us; whatever men may do to us, they cannot but serve the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives.”