Happy New Year

My last post The Importance of self-care posted October 2024, my last one in a while. It's ironic that the message I wrote talked about making time for oneself. Soon after publishing that post my own self-care regime was put on hold. Do you ever think that life is against you no matter how hard you try? I sure do, and this is one of those times.

In The importance of self-care, I also mentioned how my birthday was in a couple months and how I love it. But first we needed to get through the busy holidays. After I was all set to take care of myself after a long year of events, and other commitments, My brother's health failed drastically. Stopping all things to help him and his family, my needs were put on hold. No problem, that was a gift I freely gave. Losing a brother proved to be more difficult then I could have ever imagined. It took so much out of my soul.

We made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with many blessings. Relaxing and getting back on track, my emotional and physical tanks have started to refill, My house is starting to get back in order - it still needs to be cleaned though. My schedule has lightened up, and I even started exercising and eating right. Then boom - out of nowhere, I have been having abdominal pain. I think it is gas, but crippling. Just when things were going great, I have a setback. So yes, sometimes I feel like life is stacked against me. And you know what, that is true, not just for me, but for you also - life is stacked against us if we let it. The devil knows when we are up to good and he despises that. He will do everything in his power to prevent us from doing the will of God. But we have a tool to combat those dark forces - It's Jesus Christ.

We need armor for our heart, mind, body, and soul to get through these times of difficulty. I know it is now 2025 - phew, where did 2024 go and Christmas 2024 fades in our rear view memory as we slowly lose sight of the joys and blessings of this special holiday. But Christmas isn't a once a year event. As Fresh As Daisies, my forty day devotional opens with a message in its first devotional In The Beginning how we can grow strong even in tough times.

"IN THE BEGINNING

Genesis chapter one verse one of the Bible talks about the beginning of creation. But Christians also consider Christmas to be a beginning, when Christ came into the world. See Luke 2:1-14. Since then, Christmas has had many symbols that touch the hearts of believers. A favorite is the Christmas tree, with its evergreen boughs symbolizing life and that Jesus brings new life for the world.

I love Christmas. The smells, the decorations, the food, the music, the lights, and the knowledge that God loves us so much He sent His only son for our redemption. One of my favorite activities at Christmas, besides attending Christmas mass, is decorating our house and tree with pretty ornaments, lights, and packages. As beautiful as all these things are, they pale in comparison to how God decorates His trees.

On many mountains in Maine, as a hiker approaches tree line, stunted red spruce trees grow and are decorated with hundreds of tiny cones. Under normal conditions, this species can grow up to 75 feet tall and 2 feet in diameter. But in the high-peaks area, the usually towering spruce must adapt to the harsh, high altitudes in order to survive.

The Appalachian Trail takes hikers over such peaks, and in 2015, I captured this photo. I just love these trees. The cones hanging from the boughs remind me of Christmas decorations the way Mother Nature, aka God, intended. I may have been hiking in August, but Christmas was in my heart.

The sturdiness of the spruce trees also reminds me of how I too can grow strong even in harsh conditions if I let Christ into my life. Without Him, I am a seedling trying to grow on rocky ground. See Matthew 13:1-9. If I have no roots to hold me firmly or to feed me, I will wither and die."

Even though Christmas is past, we need to keep it in our hearts if we want any chance of surving in this world where everything seems to be stacked against us. As I sit here very early in the morning because the pain in my gut woke me up, I draw on the strength that I can get through this with God's help. I have great things to accomplish and so do you.

So lets ring in 2025 with a renewed focus on what really matters and that is finding out what it is that God wants from us and as the calendar flips by month after month, remember to keep Christmas in your heart.

Happy Hiking,

Emily M. Leonard 🌼