A Puzzle Piece in Our Life

     With about an hour and a half left of 2025, I am sitting at our table listening to the sounds of my children and their friends playing a game in the living room. It is loud and chaotic, but it makes my mom heart happy. I can't help but think about the lines from the the song I sang at the cantata, "...the kids and the dishes make a beautiful noise." The fact is all my children are here and it is comforting to know where they are. I love watching them and seeing them interact with each other. They love being with each other and that makes me happy. And knowing that God is working in their lives makes me even happier. 
     This year was not the easiest year. It started out okay, and I often wrote down things that were happening in our lives and how God was answering prayers. But once spring ended and summer began, life seemed to shift with many unknowns. Time seemed to blur as we watched friends and loved ones suffer and go through trials that took many to heaven. It seemed like God wasn't answering prayers and was silent. We were stuck in a rut. I didn't have time or an interest to write down what was going on in our lives. 
     Then something happened right after Thanksgiving that brought a lot of stress into my life. I had never felt so uptight before and I didn't realize the affect it was having on my body. It finally came to a head when I got sick and was forced to spend a few days at home, resting and recouperating. It was what I needed to continue on with all I had to do. Vacation was coming. 
     It was two days before that vacation started that suddenly God stepped in and moved a piece of our family's puzzle into place. A huge piece that answered so many prayers and will change lives in this new year. A piece that made some of our children see the hand of God in their lives. 
     It all happened when I was in the office with my son JJ, each working on different thing. He got a call and left the room as I finished what I needed to do. We had planned to get JJ and Sierra a couch for their downstairs room in the basement, where they lived with Joe's Dad, who we call Grampy. When JJ came back in I mentioned the couch and how I wanted to take Sierra to the store to check out the couch before we bought it. We had to make sure it was comfy enough for her. 
     "We might want to wait on the couch," JJ said when he was back in his chair. 
     "Why is that?" I asked. "You don't need one anymore?" 
     "No, that's not it. Something has changed."
     "What has changed?" 
     "We were just offered a house by our pastor. Sierra and I have been discussing the idea ever since he called." 
     To make a long story short, the reason why I had been so stressed out was because the teacher I was the aid for, had left, along with her husband. They had lived in this house provided by the church and once they left, it was vacant and free for new tenants. The first people it was offered to declined it, so JJ and Sierra were offered it. This offer was an answer to so many prayers.
     I won't explain it all here, but it is clear that God intentionally moved this puzzle piece and is preparing us for some good changes in 2026. We don't want to say that we hope this new year is going to be better than the last year, but our goal is to see where God is going to take us and trust Him that He will give us whatever we need to deal with whatever comes our way. So, Happy New Year to you all! May God fill you with peace, and guide each step of the way this new year.