Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:19-24
I wanted this year's word to be something like Redemption. I wanted things to be restored that are broken and lost, I longed for renewal, resolution, a reckoning for all I have endured. But it did not come. Not this year. It was another year of more hard days than good ones, more pain than peace, more weariness of soul and body than rest. And yet...
Things were not all bleak. Perhaps more than I have been able to before, I saw the Lord's mercies scattered throughout my chaos. Big ones, like the reassurance that my child does not have cancer. Little but oh-so-precious ones, like my baby girl's contagious laughs and the way my husband serves me, even when he is struggling too. Home improvements that make daily life easier, growth even through testing times at our church, a little more strength in my spirit to keep facing the torments of this world without crumbling. So many gifts from God, undeserved kindnesses that show me He loves me, He is for me, even in my weakness and failings. Glory to His name, and may His mercies follow us into 2026 and forever.