Looking Back on God’s Faithfulness: A New Reflection
As I write this on December 15, snow is stacked nearly two feet high on the roof just outside my office window. It’s quiet. Still. The kind of stillness that makes you think—sometimes whether you want to or not.
This time last year, that quiet felt heavy. The holidays had arrived without Wendy for the first time. Thanksgiving opened the door, the next day would have been our 33rd wedding anniversary, and then Christmas followed close behind—her favorite season of all. What should have been joyful became the most difficult stretch of grief I’ve faced since she passed. Depression didn’t ease in gently; it settled in and refused to leave.
Looking back now, I can say something with clarity I didn’t have then: God was with me through every step of it.
Not in loud, dramatic ways. Not with instant relief. But with steady presence. With enough strength for the day. With mercy that showed up every morning, even when mornings were the hardest.
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
—Lamentations 3:22–23 (NLT)
When Survival Is the Victory
Early in the year, my goal wasn’t progress. It was survival.
Grief doesn’t care about calendars. It doesn’t respect holidays. And it certainly doesn’t move on just because the world expects you to. That season taught me something Scripture has always said but experience finally confirmed: sometimes God’s faithfulness looks like getting you through, not lifting you out.
The psalmist understood this tension well. In Psalm 77, he writes honestly about distress before making a deliberate choice:
“But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.” (Psalm 77:11, NLT)
Remembering didn’t erase the pain—but it anchored him. It did the same for me.
Unexpected Joy in Unlikely Places
By February, something shifted. I was given the opportunity to preach for the first time at Hilltop Baptist Church. It was humbling. Sobering. A deep honor. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of speaking five times, and starting in 2026, I’ll be preaching on the last Sunday of each month. That’s not something I take lightly. It’s a reminder that God often opens doors when we’re still learning how to stand again.
Then came March—and a trip I never could have planned.
I took my niece Khloe to Texas for the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Round-Up. On paper, it sounds odd. In reality, it was a gift. Never in a million years would I have imagined traveling with an eleven-year-old girl and having the time of my life. We were close before that trip, but that experience cemented something deeper. Joy returned—not all at once, but genuinely.
That trip did something else too. It chased out the last shadows of the holiday depression. God didn’t rush the healing. He restored joy when the timing was right.
Seasons Change—Inside and Out
The summer felt strange. Rainy, then brutally hot. September and October were beautiful. And now winter has arrived with force. Standing snow outside my window reminds me how much life moves in seasons, whether we want it to or not.
Scripture speaks directly to that truth.
“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years… He humbled you and tested you in order to prove your character.”
—Deuteronomy 8:2 (NLT)
Looking back, I can see how God was leading—even when the path felt uncertain.
2025 brought milestones worth celebrating. Two books were published: The Greater the Love, The Deeper the Grief, born out of loss, and Confessions of a Pray-er to be Named Later, written from the honesty of weakness. Disciple Blueprint continued to grow steadily, and then unexpectedly surged. Website visits increased by 40%. Teaching a thirteen-week study on the Holy Spirit stretched my understanding of how God works in ways I had never fully considered before.
And this year, I was elected as a deacon at church, a role I officially step into on January 1, 2026. Another privilege and another responsibility. Another reminder of God’s faithfulness.
Remembering Is a Biblical Discipline
Throughout Scripture, God’s people are repeatedly told to remember—not as nostalgia, but as preparation.
After a victory, Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, saying,
“Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”
—1 Samuel 7:12 (NLT)
Remembering fuels confidence. It steadies faith. It reminds us that the same God who carried us through the past is already present in what’s ahead.
As this holiday season arrives again, it hasn’t carried the same weight as last year. Khloe, Owen, and Maizon helped me put up a Christmas tree—something I couldn’t bring myself to do before. Wendy always handled the decorating. This year, that memory didn’t break me. It reminded me of God’s kindness.
I survived my first year on Social Security. I stayed healthy despite gaps in insurance. My Pennsylvania family sustained me. God provided. Again and again.
Before You Look Ahead
Before you rush into goals, plans, and resolutions for the new year, pause.
Ask yourself:
Where did God sustain you when you didn’t think you’d make it?
What season stretched your faith the most this year?
When did God provide in ways you didn’t expect?
What prayers were answered slowly—but faithfully?
What evidence of God’s presence would you forget if you didn’t stop to remember?
Don’t waste the year by forgetting it.
Stepping Forward with Confidence
Looking back on God’s faithfulness isn’t about living in the past. It’s about stepping forward with confidence rooted in truth.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished.”
—Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
God was faithful in 2025. That truth gives us courage for 2026.
Before we look forward, we must look back. And once we do, we can step boldly into what God has next—confident not in ourselves, but in Him.
The same God who carried you through this year will walk with you into the next.
If this reflection encouraged you, you don’t have to walk this journey alone.
Disciple Blueprint exists to help believers slow down, think deeply, and grow steadily in their faith—not just at the start of a new year, but in every season. If you’d like to continue reflecting, learning, and being encouraged along the way, I’d love to stay connected with you.
You can follow Disciple Blueprint on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/discipleblueprint, where we share reflections, blog posts, and practical encouragement throughout the week. You can also follow us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@discipleblueprint for short teachings, devotionals, and longer-form content designed to strengthen your walk with Christ.
If you’re interested in going deeper, you can explore our books at https://www.discipleblueprintpress.com. Each one is written from lived experience and grounded in Scripture, with the goal of helping you navigate real faith in real life.
Check out our other New Year’s blogs at: https://www.discipleblueprint.com/category/newyears
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As we step into a new year, let’s keep moving forward together, anchored in God’s faithfulness and confident in what He is still doing.
