This Calvin and Hobbes sketch has been one of my favorites for a long time, and it feels perfectly fitting as we step into a brand-new year.
I don’t know about you, but 2024 was a tough year. Our family is more than ready for a fresh start. But that doesn’t 2025 promises to be any different. Even as I write this, we're on the eve of taking our youngest daughter to Houston, Texas, for the first of several treatments we hope will cure her rare brain tumor.
Reflecting on the past year, if 2024 taught us anything—and I believe it begrudgingly taught us a great deal—it was the beauty of unforeseen blessings from far-away friends, the warmth and grounding of Sunday Morning Fires, and the incredible resilience of love. While fear and uncertainty still linger, just down the hill, I’m choosing to embrace this new beginning with hope and a renewed sense of wonder. Wonder of His perfect timing, of our strength and ability to endure hard things, and at the many opportunities to gather my kids into my arms or pour my wife a cup of coffee on a chilly morning.
There is so much. And I don’t want to miss it.
Yes, we’ll likely stumble upon rocks beneath the snow or crash into a pine tree or two along the way. But what can we do except face those challenges with kindness and grace? To endure them, along with the warmth of laughter and the beauty of simple moments.
Many of you have lived this out for us and with us, and we are so deeply thankful. They are the moments that encourage our hearts, renew our strength, and remind us of hope.
Happy New Year to you! I’m excited to continue exploring this magical world together.
Sincerely,
Brian