A Year-End Review

12/24/2025

So, my loveband and I were talking. Well, the conversation started off as me listening to him express some things about a decision he was needing to make. Not an easy decision at all. Initially, my mind was like, I am glad it’s not me who has to make this decision because I have no idea what the “right” answer is. There really is no right answer in the situation. Just lots of perspective and people to consider. 

Anywho, I began to share my own opinions on the matter, and a lot of emotion began to come out. Loveband was like, well I can see you feel some way about it too! Lol. I didn’t even realize that I felt anything about the situation because I hadn’t thought that deeply about it in a while. A particular person who we hadn’t had a whole lot of contact with for months has recently been coming back in…because they need something. And the situation goes beyond that…wayyyyy beyond that, but this is not the time, nor the space. 

This topic of conversation led my loveband and I to consider some things we had to work through during the late spring/early summer. That led us to think about how all that probably added onto the very scary health situation he had gone through over the summer. Then more and more memories just kept popping into memory: being stuck between a rock and a hard place at the beginning of the year, my nephew going to the hospital, my baby girl breaking her leg, continuing to wait on things to come through, being stuck between a rock and a hard place part 2, then part 3, finding out some very heart-wrenching information that would have informed past decisions that may have prevented rock and hard place part 4, Loveband’s scary summer sickness, the sorrow of repeated disappointment and pressure when things didn’t happen when we wanted them to. I am seriously trying to remember everything. There was my Tater Tot’s unexpected doctor visit, then there was a broken toe, some present day heart-wrenching news. There has just been so much going on.

And we have taken it in stride. Only God. Only by the hand of God did we get through all this shtuff, and still have peace in our hearts today. We still stand strong today. We still smile today. We still have love and give love today. It is only by God’s grace. He has had his hand on us. 

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of his mighty wing. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress, My God, in Him will I trust. Surely, he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will take refuge. His truth will be your shield and buckler. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the perilous pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but none will come near you.”

Psalm 91. This is only part of it, but wow! This year comes full circle. I’m having this realization right now…

So, throughout some of the year, I had been trying to memorize this whole chapter of the Bible. My memorization is not as quick as it used to be lol. But I had been reading it, typing it, writing it in my notebooks, reciting it in the car, and having my kids test me. I tried. I still don’t know it all (probably because I wasn’t consistent and that’s okay), but Oh my Gosh! This Psalm was a prayer over my family. God put that Psalm in my heart and in my mind because it is a prayer, a declaration of protection, of peace, of comfort, of health, of safety, of truth, of perspective. 

In every situation I named above, my loveband and I looked to God. We looked to God to give us perspective, to provide, to heal, to walk us through, and he has done it time and time again. Some people think that being a Christian means you don’t have to go through shtuff. Some people think it means that you go through shtuff, and only see it through rose-colored glasses. But no. We have questioned, pleaded, cried, been angry, cried some more, been confused and torn. It’s just that through it all, we have to trust that God has us in the shadow of his mighty wing. He is covering us as life’s arrows are being thrown at us. The feathers– He is comforting us as we go through all the emotions. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Even though my heart still feels some anger and sadness from this ongoing/newish rock and hard place, I trust that God will lead us in love, he will restore what needs restoration, heal what needs to be healed, and he will cut off what needs to be cut off. It may not be right away, but I know that He knows exactly what we need when we need it. 

God has brought the right people into my life at the perfect time that I would need them. God has provided us with the exact amount of financial support we’ve needed when we didn’t know how it was going to happen. 

I’m reminded of that footprints in the sand picture again. That has been our year. We are walking through life, making our footprints, and then Jesus starts to carry us. This time I see the footprints of Jesus, myself, my loveband, my kids, nephews, nieces, parents and in-laws. Then, Jesus just strong mans us all into his loving arms. His are the only footprints left behind. This is life. And he does it without us even realizing it most of the time. 

He put that Psalm in my heart, and I didn’t even know why. And as always, I am forever grateful.