Renewal.
That was my word for 2025. I chose the word primarily because 2024 was a particularly hard year, one of the hardest years in recent memory. There were family, career, and church concerns that seemed overwhelming. I won’t go into details, except to say that at the close of 2024, it dawned on me that as much as I thought the year was a bust, God had given me the perfect storm to show those around me how to remain at peace while trusting him to move in his timing.
I failed, big time.
Recognizing my failure, I began 2025 by dedicating myself to renewing my commitment to “wait on the Lord” for my strength. I can’t say my commitment was perfectly executed, but I can say there was progress in the process. There were numerous times where God provided peace in that process — peace in working through family concerns, the loss of our church, career uncertainty, and more. It wasn’t all roses, but it was a time of renewed trust and hope.
As it relates to my career, the journey included my wife’s/my calling to lead Kinship Radio in mid-November. God’s fingerprints were all over this. He answered our prayers in a big way. The role at Kinship was more than a job, it was an opportunity to trust him more deeply, an incredible gift from God with great potential. At the same time, it comes with my need to lean into his wisdom and provision to guide our marriage and move to Mankato, to guide our team, and to grow, with God’s enablement, the influence of this ministry.
Candidly, the work feels daunting, and it will be. But if I learned anything from the past two years, the Lord is moving, and he expects me to move with him. There is rest with God, but there is no idleness. And so, my “word” for 2026 is actually a phrase. The phrase is “for now.” As in, life is hard, “for now.” The situation’s not getting better, “for now.” It just seems hopeless, “for now.”
The valley of the shadow of death is… for now, but that’s not the end of the story. For where there are shadows, there is the Light not far away.
God is on the move, and he beckons us to heed the Apostle Paul’s words, to “forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14). I welcome you to join me in the journey, knowing it may be difficult “for now,” but so worth it for our future in Him.
By Chris Lemke