I pondered for a long time on what I wanted to write. The truth is, nothing. I read about how seasons like these, especially in countries with winter months, call on us to actually take a cue from animals that hibernate. January feels like a quiet month for me. I know it’s supposed to mark new beginnings with people executing their goals and hitting the ground running, but after all the festivities and a birthday in December, all I want to do in January is recover.
But adulthood has responsibilities. I was already working by the second day in January, and it’s been a pretty busy season. I think it was easier as a student to actually appreciate the ‘newness’ of a year. It usually marked a new semester in school, often accompanied by new hair in my case and maybe new stationery. I could feel like I was beginning again. As an adult, I’ve now come to realise that it’s really just two weeks between the Christmas holiday and when we have to go back to work.
I’m someone who always likes to pause and get in touch with my emotions. I’ve not always been like that. After university, and a particularly intense final year, I felt like I was seeing for the first time. You suddenly realise that you have built your life around activities, and when they aren’t there anymore, you don’t know who you are. So since then, I’ve been pausing. To breathe, to check in on myself, to remember who I am away from my activities.
However, as an adult, nobody is going to pay you to pause o. Hehehe. My new path has involved pausing on the go. Checking in while showing up every single day. I want to be able to recognise myself when seasons change. I don’t ever want to base my life on titles because they always pass away. The most important one that doesn’t fade is that I’m a child of God and loved by my Father. He knows me even when I have forgotten who I am.
So, you may not be like me, and January is indeed “hit the ground running” season for you, and that is okay. But, if you have tendacies to pour out so much that your start and end begin to blur, I hope you will take a pause. However, there are some parts of you that no amount of pausing will ever reach. Mia Fieldes shared about “the wound that has no name.” Give it to God, let Him heal the things that you cannot see and redeem every season as we begin again.
Happy New Year, everyone! Remember, you can reinvent yourself as many times as you want! Welcome to Ebenezer 2026.
Photo Credit: Ed Stone on Unsplash