**WOW! It's almost 2026!**
Praise God for another year ending! The end of the year is always dual in nature. We often reflect on what has been while preparing for what is to come. As we enter winter and Advent, it is both a time for reflection and preparation. While we often think of this season as the ending of those fruitful months—spring, summer, and fall—where leaves fade, grass browns, gardens rest, and animals brace for winter, we must also acknowledge something else: new life yet to come, waiting to spring forth in just a few months. What seems dead from the outside is really preparation. Trees are preparing for the next bud, soil for the next harvest, and animals resting for the next generation of little ones. We are resetting for the new.
I wonder if that's how Joseph felt as he reflected on his single life and walked into the season of marriage. Before he was even married, he could never have imagined what God was planning to do through their union. Joseph, a carpenter from Bethlehem, was a Jewish man who would have read the prophet Micah's words: *"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times"*
(Micah 5:2, NIV). Yet he probably never imagined that his wife would carry the Messiah. When Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant and contemplated divorcing her quietly, he experienced a supernatural visit from an angel of the Lord: *"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"* (Matthew 1:20-21, NIV) While Joseph wondered how he would navigate this difficult season and make one of his toughest decisions yet, God comforted him. Joseph learned that something supernatural was about to unfold—something he had never seen before. His lineage was the fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 1:1-17), and he could never have imagined that his Holy Spirit- conceived son would be *"the way and the truth and the life"* (John 14:6, NIV).
As we prepare for the next season, what are you reflecting on? What are you preparing for God to do in your life?
Heavenly Father, as we stand at the threshold of a new year, we thank You for Your faithfulness throughout every season of our lives. Just as You prepared Joseph for the extraordinary calling ahead, prepare our hearts now for what You have planned. Help us trust You in seasons of waiting and uncertainty, knowing that what seems dormant is often where You do Your deepest work. Open our eyes to see Your hand at work in our lives, and give us courage to say "yes" to Your will, even when we cannot see the full picture. In the name of Jesus, our Savior and the fulfillment of every promise, we pray.
Amen.
