Even in This

Many of my followers know that as we near the end of the year, I will share some thoughts about my “word of the year.” This is a practice that I started quite a few years ago and have continued to embrace. Come November each year, I spend a lot of time in prayer reflecting on the word chosen for the current year and praying for discernment about the upcoming year. For 2025, my word was Acceptance. Not in a complacent, whatever will be will be type of manner, but acceptance with open hands and an open heart to what the universe chose to put in front of me. It’s a subtle difference, but an important one. Accepting the good with the bad, the joyful with the heartbreaking, and the simple and mundane with the challenging.

Anyone who has spent time on the ocean or rivers will tell you that embracing the waves and currents is always easier than fighting them. The same is true for birds in the air. Just watch a hawk soaring in the sky. They rarely move their wings, just playing in the thermals to carry them higher, dip lower and catch another one to rise again. There is so much peace in acceptance of what is presented to us, even when it is not easy.

This past year brought many highs and lows, a new job, leaving a community I cared about, meeting family I had longed to know, an award for my writing, letting go of hobbies that no longer fulfill me to make space for more writing, the loss of my beloved dog, Gabriel, and the acceptance of a marriage proposal. All of that came this year and I accepted it with an open heart. Much of it was not easy, some of it was, and many things came so naturally as to hardly even feel like a decision. Acceptance has been very good, and in the midst of all of it was God. Holding me, guiding me, loving me.

There is a word for that, too: Yada. It is a Hebrew word that originally meant “even in this.” It referred to God being present in everything, even in this. In more recent years, it has come to sound dismissive. Think of the Seinfeld episode, “Yada, yada, yada.” But when we think of the original meaning, even in this, we can embrace that God is always present. In the joy, as well as the chaos, God is present. Given the amount of chaos in our world right now, I think it is even more important to remember that He is present, even when we don’t see Him. Even when we don’t feel Him. Even in this. His love, His grace, His mercy, His compassion is always present. I think it’s a good word for 2026. So, I will write it at the top of each month of my calendar as a reminder to focus on His presence, even in this.

 This past weekend, we went to listen to my brother-in-law’s band play at a local bar. It’s an older crowd, some older than others, but they play the music that stirs memories of our youth and long-lost friendships. The type of music that even without hearing it for decades, the lyrics and memories come flooding back and we are instantly transported to a time long ago and our hearts burst. During one particular song, I noticed an older couple, in their nineties as we would find out later, holding on to each other, swaying to the music while those around them danced much faster. They could have been all alone on the dance floor, without any care about the chaos spinning around them. Their expressions said it all: Love. They were so completely at peace and in love in their embrace, and I couldn’t help but marvel at it. Even in the swirling, frenetic movement all around them, they were completely lost in each other’s arms. Even in this. Yada. Happy New Year, my friends.