“This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Hello Friends,
I trust this finds you still enjoying the Christmas season; maybe you are knee deep with tired, over excited children and piles of laundry, maybe you are taking some deep breaths and slowly putting the house to rights after a wonderful week of fun, food and festivities, or maybe you are back at work and appreciating some Christmas twinkle alongside the routine demands of life. Whatever your days are looking like, I hope you are able to carve out some space to sit quietly with a warm mug of tea, a softly flickering candle, your journal, Bible or gentle music and be still before our God as we end one year and begin another.
I’m sure I’ve quoted the above Scripture from Jeremiah before as it’s one of our family verses (I use if for our Family Coat of arms , a fun project you might like to consider if you have young children), but it’s a particularly good one to mull over and pray into at the beginning of a new year. As I reflected over this past year I realised that for myself and our four adult/ teen children it has been a mercifully stable one. For HWH there have been big uncertainties but also amazing answers to prayer. However, I know there will be changes ahead this coming year and I find this verse helpful in discerning priorities and hence in decision making.
Gathering around the table is, for me, a highlight of our Christmas celebrations. Having all six of us together, while sometimes noisy, is now a treat! Most lunches we have home made soup, bread, cheeses, chutneys and some warm festive treats.
As we approach a new year with many uncertainties on a national and international level, as well as individual challenges and worries, I’m becoming ever more convinced that for many of us creating homes which are comfortable and welcoming is going to be of increased significance in times ahead. Homes where God’s Word is taught daily to our young children, where our teenagers are able to share their doubts and grapple with the complexities of the many messages which bombard them, where our adult children can come to find a soft landing and well known rhythms of rest, where neighbours are welcomed to chat over a mug of tea, where deep, soul filling conversations can be had by many and where life is celebrated. This is something I constantly endeavour to work towards, and will intentionally keep in mind as one of the “ancient pathways” as I fill my calendar for the months ahead.
So friends, as we enter 2025, may we walk daily with Jesus, knowing He alone is the firm foundation of our lives.
Happy New Year!
Love Molly x
Mothering through the seasons 