Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! Happy Epiphany! Those were the three phrases our priest exhorted after holy mass this morning. Yes, it’s still (sorta) Christmas. The traditional rite celebrates Epiphany (when the wise men finally made it to the nativity) on Tuesday this year and we are finally slowlyyyyy taking down our trees. We had three beautiful trees this year, one of which was burned yesterday but the other two are still standing. I had thought the main one would come down today but it’s 4:30 and I just don’t think it’s happening. We also haven’t chalked the doors yet or done the home blessing for the year. I figure since Epiphany isn’t technically until Tuesday, it’s fine. We did make an eat a giant king cake made of cinnamon rolls and my oldest found the baby this year! Glory be.

I hope everyone’s holidays were fun and well. I always really love the start of a new year. I’m not big into resolutions, but I am into setting words and intentions for the upcoming year. This year, my word of the year is surrender. I definitely would not have chosen that for myself! Truthfully, I am not the best at surrendering anything, which is why this is a funny choice. All too often, I am white knuckling it through, grasping for any control that I can and then writhing in anxiety if something doesn't go my way. I have been guilty of feeling that I am the one who holds it all together, all the time. I take care of everyone in such a way that I don’t let anything bad or unexpected happen.

But what happens when it does? And who takes care of me? I desire to be taken care of the same way I take care of everyone else. And that, friends, is where surrender comes in. Surrendering to the Lord’s will in our life is not always easy but he gives us grace upon grace to do just that if we let Him. It might not look like what we think, but working to give up that white knuckle control is where the fruit comes in.

Last year felt stressful in every way. We felt brittle and exhausted, going through all the motions but not really feeling them. I felt incapable of making decisions in my life that needed to be made out of fear. Thankfully, the Lord breathed so much life into that rocky spot during a very fruitful advent season. I pray you are entering the year with new life, too. It’s never going to be easy on this side of heaven. A busy homeschool mom carries a lot on her shoulders. It’s easy to let exhaustion seep into the cracks. I find that I am able to combat that by the daily discipline of my own morning time. Prayer, scripture, reading, working in my planner and exercise every day keeps me from falling back into that burn out that I mentioned earlier. The Lord offers us so much grace and will open doors and windows to us through prayer.

I pray you have a good and healthy first week of 2026. AMDG