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All Things New


January

For some, leaving Christmas decorations up into January (or after!) is a way to hold on to the joyous scenes of the season. For me, I prefer to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's slowly but surely taking down the last trace of tinsel.


My household celebrates and decorates Christmas big—down to each room getting a makeover, from our vintage Christmas cottage comforter to the ice-skating Mickey & Minnie shower curtain in our daughter's bathroom. Simplifying and cleaning house can be refreshing after the larger-than-life North Pole that I call my cozy home during the month of December.


A fresh year brings in many feelings of a reset—we make our resolutions knowing that this year we will stick with them, we feel emboldened to set new goals, and we make this next year the best year yet. However you find yourself walking into 2026, know that God knows what you went through in 2025 and will go before you as you step into the new year.


The end of 2025 has brought a new wave of heartache for my family, as we transition into our new normal as a family without our best friend, Cash. At a whopping 125 pounds, our black Lab has been a part of our family since my husband and I started dating. I celebrated his 2nd birthday a few months into Derek and I dating, and we, as well as our 3-year-old daughter, don't know a life without him. As my husband and I navigate how to explain this new reality to our daughter, we look to God for guidance.


As we step into this next year without our best pal, I'm reminded of a passage of Scripture in Isaiah: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)


I am so comforted by this verse because even though I don't know what grief will look like as my family walks through it, God does. This will be my daughter's first experience with loss, but what a gift it is that my husband and I can use this heartbreaking moment as a chance to share the gospel—not only with her, but to preach it back to our own hearts. God makes a way in the wilderness when we don't know the way out, and He brings forth rivers of life and refreshment in the most desolate areas of our lives.


My daughter knows that Cash has been sick and, without prompting, told Derek and me how she remembered reading at the end of her Bible that in heaven there is no sickness or crying. She said with complete confidence, "When Cash gets to heaven, Jesus will give him all of the peanut butter he wants because he won't be sick anymore."


I am so thankful for how the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth when we allow the Word to penetrate our hearts—even for 3-year-olds.


Revelation 21:5 says, "And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’"


Notice the present tense wording of I am making. This is great news for us who follow Jesus! Yes, we will have perfect and complete peace and wholeness when we are face to face with Him, but if we pay attention to His works, we can see that He is currently making all things new in the here and now.


Lamentations 3:22-23 promises us: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Every single morning we have an opportunity to surrender our day, our heartache, our unknowns, and everything in between to God because His mercies are new for us every morning. We have the opportunity to turn everything back over to Him as an act of worship.


He gives us "this day our daily bread," and we can hold on to the truth that whatever 2026 brings, He is with us, He is for us, He goes before us, and He will never leave us. If you are looking for a fresh start and hopeful to turn over a new leaf—whether you are reading this the first week of January or some random Tuesday in September—know that God meets you where you are and will make all things new in your life as you trust Him.


FOR FURTHER THOUGHT

Where in your life do you see Jesus making all things new? What circumstances in your life do you need Him to step in?


The beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect—and I try to focus on the gifts of the year so I can step into a new year with a heart full of gratitude.

Consider purchasing a pre-curated gratitude journal or grabbing a blank journal to start your list of mercies and gifts you saw God work in your life this past year.


Write out prayers of what you're believing God for in 2026, and know that no matter what happens, He is with you.


PRAYER

Loving Father, thank You for being with us in our wilderness and seasons of life where we're walking in the unknown. Thank You that even in our hardest grief or circumstances, You make a way through the wilderness and You give us new mercies each morning. For those of us ending the year in hardship, strengthen us and remind us of Your presence. For those of us rejoicing in a new year, help us focus on You and ways we can glorify You in all of our ways. In Jesus' Name, Amen.


ABOUT MORGAN BENNER

Morgan Benner

Morgan Benner is a woman transformed by faith, and if you had met her in the first 27 years of her life, you might not recognize her today. Jesus completely changed her, making her not just a different person but a new one. She now enjoys life with her best friend and husband, Derek, and their sweet three-year-old daughter, continually experiencing God’s love and growing in faith through her family. A creative at heart, Morgan uses her gifts to serve at her church—whether through video announcements, social media, small group leadership, or welcoming others into an encounter with Jesus. Professionally, she works as a Talent Acquisition Manager for a Fortune 500 company, a role that reflects her deep love for people. Known for meeting others right where they are, she is passionate about sharing the good news of the One who changed her life.


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