It is safe to say that the Holidays are fully upon us. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, streets, parking lots, and stores are busier than usual as shoppers hunt for the best deals on the perfect gifts for their loved ones. Even my closet feels overcrowded as I hide gifts on shelves, behind shoes, and beneath the length of my dresses.
This time of year brings such a mixture of emotion. The twinkling lights, the pine scented candles, the crackling fires and the taste of hot cocoa are simple pleasures that bring so much joy. I don’t know that my kids (or my husband for that matter), will ever tire of a mug of hot cocoa piled high with mini marshmallows while we cuddle up and watch a favorite Christmas movie.
Not all the emotions of this season are pleasant, though. There is also the stress of all the Christmas gatherings, determining what to buy that person who already has everything, and wondering where along the way we will ever find time to wrap all those gifts. Let’s not forget hiding the elf (or at my house, the shepherd) every night. I literally have to set an alarm for that or the poor guy doesn’t move for days.
Somewhere in the midst of all the year end activities, I have learned to take time to reflect over the previous months. Doing so offers an opportunity to sit with the Lord, celebrate parts of the journey I’ve taken and seek Him about what the new year has in store.
Recently as I wrapped up the fall cycle of 61 Minutes, I began reflecting back over 2025 and it suddenly hit me what a BIG year it has been. I began to realize that Jesus has asked quite a bit of me this year. Not only did I launch 61 Minutes, a small discipleship group that meets biweekly in my home, I helped lead three retreats in eleven months, one of which was in South Asia where I also helped with village ministry and taught children at an after school program.
When you list it out on paper, it seems so simple, but much like the Christmas season, it has been full of both joy and trepidation. There were moments where I thought God was crazy for asking some of these things of me, yet His direction was clear. There were moments where I thought my heart would burst within my chest because I was so nervous to lead in new ways, but I could not allow myself to say no to Him. There were times where I wanted to run away and hide, longing for the anonymity I used to find so unappealing, but He gently drew me out.
In all of these things, what I have discovered is the gift of saying yes to God. Isaiah 55:8-9 says ”…I do not go about things as you do. My thoughts and My ways are above and beyond you…” (The Voice). The truth is, I don’t always understand the why behind what God is asking of me.
What I have learned is that despite the fear and trembling I might feel at His request, His ways are indeed better. Although I may be nervous at first, “Prickly thorns and nasty briers will give way to luxurious shade trees, sweet and good. And they’ll remind you of the Eternal One and how God can be trusted absolutely and forever, (Isaiah 55:13, The Voice).
The truth is that saying yes to God is better than unwrapping the perfect gift on Christmas morning. The truth is that He knows my heart better than I do. He doesn’t have to spend hours milling through stores to find just the right present. He has had it all planned out from the beginning and His ways are for my good (Jer. 29:11). No amount of my own planning could ever lead me into the joy He has prepared. He is such a good Father and His ways are trustworthy!
So as you wrap up 2025, I pray that you take the time to look back over the past months, celebrate what God has done, and ask Him what is your invitation to me in the year to come?
-Liz