Happy new year. 2025 was all about getting well, spending a lot of time at doctor offices, physical therapy and emergency rooms. It was a season of healing and learning about myself.
Someone said to me, “Don’t let the old woman in.”
I understood what she was saying. That old woman crouches at my door, with cane in hand, hollering, “Let me in. I’m hurting. I’m slow, and I need someone to feel sorry for me.”
Since I’m still struggling to get around, it’s easy to grovel in what happened with the Aug. 6, 2024, accident. My legs were damaged, and healing has been a slow process, tiny steps. I thought I’d bounce back quickly. Not happening.
My body is weak, but my spirit is robust for God things, more alive than ever. It’s a wonderful time to be alive. What a paradox. The accident was a blessing in disguise — a contradiction in itself going against common sense, carrying a deeper truth, a better me.
The old woman is persistent. She learned where my bruises are and what brings tears to my eyes.
I can’t feel sorry for her. I can’t lose sleep over her. It’s time to move forward into a new year. I must intentionally refuse the old dialogue she wants to whine about. She has no place in this new year.
I can’t afford to open the door to her, throw her a crumb, feed her with the dogs. We are in a new season. New challenges are ahead in our older days.
I heard that God talks differently to older people. I questioned the thought, but I can verify it to be true. He tells me things I could have only dreamed of hearing in my early years when I eagerly searched for Him, wanting to know Him more. Sometimes He was near and at times far away.
With that searching, I still wanted title, position and praise. These things He speaks to me today are void of outward things — anxiousness, ambition, acquisitions, even good health, and time as I know it. He deals only with the heart. Out of the heart comes the real issues of life. And I know more than ever in my heart that God loves me. He even likes me.
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV). I hear about older people who are struggle with disappointment and old age. My advice: Turn your hearts to the Lord and find your peace. He is as close as your breath. He is ready to answer you.
Each season has its reason and a new harvest. Not sure what is being planted this year in our lives. Maybe more faith to handle the days ahead?
It will be a busy year as we wrap up two books and release them into the world in 2026. We will continue with our newsletters and the “Artist’s Lane” column in the newspaper. I teach a Bible study on Zoom, which is my greatest delight. I see my life making sense and coming full circle. It’s all about the heart.
Each season has a beginning, middle and end, with a completion and harvest. The seeds planted last year are springing up into identifiable plants. They are sustaining me for the next season of life — more patience, more loving care for my husband and more full-circle disclosure. It’s a wonderful time to be alive.
Final brushstroke: Let that old woman scream. I can’t pay any attention to her. The Lord and I are on speed dial. He wakes me in the night just to hear my voice. He whispers to me new and amazing things and tells me He loves me. It’s like living in His heart every moment of the day.
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