It has been a long, hard winter. In our region of the country we were hit recently with freezing cold, single digit temps for days, snow which is fun and ice which is not. As I flipped the page on a new year and reset my mind on all the hope I had for 2025, it has definitely waxed and waned in these first few months of the new year. In our home we have had sicknesses(the flu), an injury, and disappointing test results that required surgery, all within a week.

I went into 2025 full of hope and so far 2025 has taught me that my hope is in Jesus. Despite every injury, illness, and disappointment, He has shown his goodness and his power. He has strengthened my faith and my family. Each member of my family of 5 has stepped up to help one another in beautiful and unexpected ways. I have seen thoughtfulness and empathy that I have never seen before in my teenagers and I’m so thankful for them.

My word for 2025 is contentment and like that hope, it’s been hard pressed on every side. People used to tell me as a believer, young in my faith not to pray for patience because I would be put in situations that required it so I could practice. I realize now that the same is true for contentment.  Since I declared this to be my word of the year and started praying for it, I’ve been in situations day in and day out where I find myself longing and yearning instead of being content.

After a particularly hard and trying few weeks(the one with injury, disappointing test results, and the flu), I delicately asked my husband if we could get away for a week for the kids winter break. We had  zero budget for a vacation. We had been planning and budgeting and being intentional with our incomes for awhile and vacation was not part of the current budget, but I just wanted to escape the 4 walls around us and forget everything that we had faced and were facing with an upcoming surgery. He said no, and rightfully so, it wouldn’t have been wise for us to go away without planning and it would have set us back in all of the saving we had done. Even though he was right and I knew it, I was miserable the whole week of winter break and I didn’t hide it. As my feelings festered and spun in my brain, I would catch myself and try to turn my misery to praise. This lightened my mood, but it didn’t fix the problem instantaneously, I had to keep doing it. Every time the negative thoughts overtook me, I had to actively replace them with positive ones. I may be freezing but thank you God that the sun is shining. Thank you God for the jobs you provide. Thank you God for my family. Thank you God for my friends… This was a practice in contentment and gratitude for sure. I didn’t want to waste this week in discontentment and God didn’t let me. Even though I wallowed in it, God used that to teach me contentment on a deeper level. God will use everything, therefore nothing is wasted. The kids are back in school now, the weather has warmed up and bit, and the snow and ice have since melted. A few weeks ago I caught the first glimpse of my daffodil bulbs. It is early March so we are truly between seasons here in New England and I sit here and think about what that means, between seasons… The transition from winter to spring in the northeast is a roller coaster. Mild one day, cold the next, cloudy or sunny or rainy, with a possibility of snow until April. But then I think of these bulbs. These bulbs are waiting, just like me, but probably more patiently than I am. Their time will come and they will grow and bloom and take in the warm sun. While I wait for my daffodils to bloom, I will continue to learn how to be content in the season I am in while seeing the next one right on the horizon. And every time I get grumpy and forget, God offers grace and forgiveness to my weary heart. He is comfort and rest for my soul and I trust that He is doing a good work in me, growing and stretching me in my journey to contentment.