A Soft NEW YEAR AHEAD

The year does not end with noise.

It closes the way God often speaks—

quietly, patiently, without force.

An invitation to rest in what has been,

and to trust what has not yet come.

This past year walked us through valleys and lighted fields alike.

It asked us to carry grief we did not choose,

and to receive grace we did not earn.

There were moments when faith felt steady,

and moments when it was nothing more than a whisper—

yet even then, God remained.

We were held through days we did not understand.

Through unanswered prayers and long pauses.

Through the ache of absence and the weight of remembering.

Nothing was overlooked.

God was present in the breaking,

and just as present in the quiet stitching together.

As the New Year approaches, we are not asked to arrive perfected.

We are asked only to come as we are.

To lay down what no longer gives life,

and to carry forward what love has shaped within us.

God never rushes ahead,

He walks with us in it.

The year ahead does not need to be laid out quickly,

only a heart willing to listen.

A spirit attentive to the holy unfolding of ordinary days.

God will meet us there—in the unseen, in the waiting.

May this year be one of deeper trust.

May love grow quietly but firmly at the center of our lives.

May we recognize God not only in moments of clarity,

but in the stillness where He has always been.

We step forward not alone,

but accompanied—

by grace that goes before us,

by mercy that follows behind us,

and by a love that will not let us go.

May God bless this year before you—

every breath, every step, in all that's becoming.

May He keep your heart soft, your faith rooted,

and your days wrapped in His gentle presence.

And may you discover, again and again,

that you are deeply known, deeply loved,

and never walking alone.