Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” – Mark 9:22-24
By any accounting, I think it is fair to say that 2025 was a challenging year.
Regardless, here we are looking at January 1, 2026 and the hands of time – for all the mystery and complexities of quantum physics – still move only in one direction. And so in a very real sense, anything (and everything) is possible.
And to add spiritual weight to that idea, as Jesus once pointed out to a father struggling with his faith, “Anything is possible if a person believes…”
For Rebekah and for me – especially in light of the ongoing project we are now living in – restoration is a fundamental principle for life. This house took, essentially, nine-to-ten months of hard work. That is in a very real sense a gestational truth.
Not “Ten months and then there it is, fully formed.” No, “Here it is, it’s amazing, but still very much a work in progress.”
“Restoration is a fundamental principle for life.”
New Life for People too:
So this is what I am thinking, and especially for folk who are facing some rebuilding in their lives during 2026:
- A) Time only moves in one direction.
- B) Restoration is hard work but what you get is always more amazing than you can possibly imagine.
- C) Reevaluation and repair are both necessary and ongoing.
What this means is that, regardless of age or circumstance, 2026 holds the potential to be a masterpiece. Rebekah says this best: “It is not so much what happens to us as how we respond.”
Well, 2025 happened, and it wasn’t always what we wanted. The question is, “How then do we respond?”
Here’s the thing about our house. It was abused, it was beat up, it was broken up into apartments, maintenance was ignored, it was rotting, it had holes in the walls and the floors (and more). But now it is a beautiful home that we delight in.
Are we done? Not at all! The plumber neglected to insulate the pipes. We have already had to replace one of the roof sections. The windows and the floors let in a lot of summer heat and winter cold. The heating bills have been beyond absurd.
Like I said, “Restoration is a fundamental principle for life.”
Believe me, if your 2025 was hard (and I see you…) the restoration work in 2026 is going to be so worth it!
“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus still asks. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” – DEREK
Derek and Rebekah, I live a few condos from Drew and Alicia in Midland. I’ve known the Pashby’s since the girls were preschoolers. I look forward to your posts daily and was particularly encouraged last year as I had a 7 month long kitchen redo in 2025. Mine, however, was just a condo kitchen job, not an entire house! The returns, delays, unreliable installers, living with a stove in my LR, etc. were daunting and exhausting just the same. So, yes, your daily thoughts to keep me grounded in God’s promises were the best! I also looked forward to your time in Poland. My son and Ela were married in Poland where Ela’s family lives two hours from Krakow. I enjoyed my time in Krakow very much. Maybe I’ll see you in MI! Happy New Year! Julie DeRuiter
AMEN! Happy New Year!