Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026

When I think back on 2025, I realize that there were really a lot of changes during the past year. There were so many times that I don’t even think I can remember them all, but I do know that they have made changes in me.

The Lord put me on this earth just short of 70 years ago. Do I feel that old? Most days not but there have been a few. Joints take time to get started, foods that I loved don’t agree with me anymore, but others that I did not like seem to be tasty now. Things that mattered when I was 20 or 30, no longer seem to be important. Now I think more of others than I do myself.

Milly came to us this past year, and has taught me a lot, and shown me what I might look like to God when He looks down on us. She still does not come out in the daytime, she still hides, but she is also not running away from us like she did at first. The trust is building. Changes happen, often without us realizing it as it is gradual.

Other changes come on us without any warning. People change and even though the changes did not happen suddenly, our knowledge of that change was unexpected. It takes time to realize that some of the changes are not my issue, not my responsibility, not something I can control.
But what I do know is that my reaction to the changes is what I control. I learned more this past year, that I have to listen more, and pray for others as well as myself to understand and love them without being judgemental. This is how I would want to be treated.

One especially difficult time for me this past year was the loss of my best friend, Someone I had known for over 40 years. For a time, and for a little more, this leaves a hole in my heart. But I know she is with our Father and that I will see her again. For now I have tons of memories that pop up every now and then, just when I need it.

But through it all, my husband is by my side going through it as well, and my love for him keeps growing. We keep trucking on, going with the flow of changes. As this new year starts we have a lot to be grateful for, and a lot yet to learn about our God, and continuing to grow our relationship with Him. He does not forsake us, never leaves us, even when we our eyes are blind and we don’t see what He does for us.

So in closing out 2025 and opening up the doors to 2026, my prayers are for everyone that reads this to be able to open up your hearts to the sounds of the birds, to the voices of family and friends, to be able to hear His voice, even if you’ve never heard it before. Let this be a new year and a good year for all of us.