For the One Struggling to Say Goodbye to 2025: A Tender Invitation to the Jesus Challenge

Key Takeaways 

• It’s okay if you weren’t ready to say goodbye to 2025. Grief, loss, and exhaustion don’t follow a calendar, and there’s no shame in struggling while others celebrate. 

• Many people feel sad and behind at the turn of the new year, but it’s rarely talked about. 

• God’s timing isn’t bound by human calendars. 2026 may have arrived without your permission, but that doesn’t mean you’ve lost control or fell behind God’s plan for you. 

• God’s presence is your greatest source of comfort and security, with you in the middle of your deepest pain. 

• God’s constantly renewing you, even when it feels like your life is in shambles. 

• Knowing the truth in your head doesn’t always bring peace, especially when you’re dealing with heavy emotions. Small habits of truth are the secret key to peace, even on the toughest grief days. 

• The Jesus virtual challenge is a simple, grace-filled invitation to receive God’s tender ministry and care over your hurting heart. 

• This challenge is not a “fresh start” or “transformation challenge,” but a slow, safe exposure to God and His Word to soothe your aching heart. 

The turn of the new year. 📆

The whole world celebrates this holiday. Confetti. Fireworks. Late nights and raised glasses. There’s a collective surge of excitement to close the old chapter and launch headfirst into the next. “Happy New Year!” rolls off of tongues with confidence and hopeful expectation. 🥳

But while the New Year's spotlight beams down on the celebration, let’s step out of the glare and focus our attention on a dimly lit corner. 

Someone, maybe you, sits there, quietly observing the celebration. You’re physically present, but emotionally you’re somewhere else entirely.

 

You keep a smile on your face.

People pass the snacks you brought and play games.

Sparklers wave around.

People laugh and reminisce about milestones from the last year. 

But it all feels distant and muted. Like you’re observing through a glass. 

You’re not ready to part with 2025. 😞

You’re not joyful or eager for what’s coming next. If you’re honest, you actually dread the turn of the new year. Your heart’s still holding on to something dear in 2025. 

Maybe you were last with your loved one in 2025 and you can’t bear to leave that year behind. 

Maybe your life went through a massive transition and you haven’t had time to process or accept it.

Maybe life’s moving SO fast you feel totally out of control, exhausted, and disoriented. 

Letting go of the old year does NOT sound hopeful. It's deeply painful. Like total betrayal; leaving people, moments, or versions of life that mattered more than you can put into words. You’d do anything to stay attached to the year because of who or what it held. 

And then the countdown begins. ⏳

Your heart clenches tight, as though to force time to a screeching halt, freeze-framing your memories before they slip into “last year.” 

Everyone around you chants excitedly, their eyes bright with anticipation. 

🗣️ “9, 8, 7..!”  

You feel powerless to preserve your dearest moments. 

🗣️ “6, 5, 4!” 

It’s happening TO you, and you can’t stop it. Time moves forward, with or without your permission. 

🗣️ “3, 2, 1!” 

Cheers. Applause. Kisses exchanged. 

It’s done.

 

Without your consent, 2025 becomes the past. And your heart breaks all over again as you’re forced to leave a year you were never ready to say goodbye to. 💔

You’re Not Alone 

Oh friend, if this is your story, I just wish I could wrap you up in the biggest hug right now. 🫶 This is such a deeply personal and painful experience you walked through. And even if you’re in a room full of people, a moment like this feels achingly lonely and isolated. 

So please hear this from me: you are NOT alone. And you are NOT broken. 

Soooo many people quietly experience this secondary loss every year, when time moves forward, but their hearts aren’t ready. But it’s rarely named or discussed because the world’s busy celebrating. And while that joy isn’t wrong, I want to make room at the table for you and your story, too. 🤲 

The grief and ache doesn’t magically disappear after the party’s over. 

January takes off with a roar, with calendars taller than your head, resolutions, and “new year, new me” goals. People busily map out their year, charging ahead with giddy excitement. 

Meanwhile, you’re still surviving one day at a time. The change of our manmade calendar didn’t change your circumstances or your pain. It marches right through, running its own mysterious course. 

You might feel some guilt or shame because you can’t match the motivated, optimistic energy around you. You feel like you just trudged into the new year the same way you trudged out of the old one: hurting, tired, and not sure if you can hope yet. 🥺

If that’s you, know that you are wanted here exactly as you are. I want to give you permission to release those expectations of yourself.

 

All the planning and goal-setting are beautiful things, but they’re not required. They’re not measures of faithfulness. The Bible doesn’t describe these as expectations of a godly person. 

You don’t need to match everyone around you. (In fact, there are probably more people than you realize walking in your shoes this January, too.) 

God’s not rushed or disappointed by your reality. 

You don’t need to pull yourself together to match social media energy. 

No matter how much you love or hate that it’s now 2026, you’re wanted and cherished just because you’re here. ♥️

Reminders of the Truth in 2026

As you step into the unfamiliar reality of 2026, I want to offer you a few gentle, Biblical truths to stand on when everything feels overwhelming. 

My heart here is not to rush your pain into healing or to “fix” anything. Grief has its own timeline. But when loss disorients your world, sometimes a solid little guidepost can help you find your footing. 🪧

1. God’s time doesn’t run on our calendar. 

Our calendars are manmade. We divided time into minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years to organize our lives. But God’s never been bound to those boxes. 

So if you feel like the year took off without your permission, zoom out to the greater reality of time. God doesn’t define time by our calendar numbers. He defines it by His purposes, fully intentional and far beyond our markings of time. 

Scripture reminds us of this truth again and again: 

• “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8) 

• “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) 

• “The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:15-16) 

• “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7) 

If you’re here in 2026, you’re NOT out of control. You’re not missing something or falling behind. 

God’s intentionally placed you here at this particular time, with these particular circumstances, “for such a time as this.” Yes, even this year. Right now. 👇 Even the year you didn’t want to enter. 

God is not finished with you. 

Right now, in the midst of the sadness and unanswered questions, He’s carefully working His good in you for a magnificent reason you may not yet know. It’s not late. It’s not too early. At JUST the right time. 

2. God’s presence is enough. 

God makes a simple, unwavering promise in Deuteronomy 31:6: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

That’s a pretty bold promise, especially when life as we know it falls apart. 😩

But Psalm 46:1 confirms this promise again, saying, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” 

He’s not far off or theoretical. He’s with you. Here. Right now as you read this on your screen. 👀

And then in Isaiah 43:2, God speaks some of the most comforting, encouraging words a mourner can ever hear: “When you go through deep waters, I will be WITH YOU. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will NOT drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will NOT be burned up; the flames will NOT consume you.” 

Let those words settle in your heart. 

No matter how deep or treacherous those waters feel, God promises it will NOT overcome you. He’s not off on the shore watching you struggle; He is WITH you. Protecting you, your steady Rock, feeling all the pain with you. 🥹 

Because of this, David could confidently say in Psalm 118:6-7, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me, He is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.” 

With Him beside you, the pressure of moving forward before you’re ready loosens its grip. 

So even if time seems like it’s carrying you forward without your permission, God is WITH you. And that’s all that matters. A calendar will never bring you security, even if it still said 2025. 

As waves crash over your world, focus on His presence. 💭

He is glorious. 

He is sufficient for your pain. 

He’s not going anywhere. Ever. 

3. God’s constantly renewing you. 

God’s work of renewal rarely hinges on human celebrations or our emotional readiness. He doesn’t hit you with renewal on January 1st, AND He doesn’t require your enthusiasm to do His work. 

Instead, God renews us quietly, often in the middle of pain and trials. ⛏️

Lamentations (a book dedicated to deep grief) reminds us, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” 

It doesn’t emphasize a new year or even “once the grief passes.” It says “new every morning.” That also includes the mornings that arrive heavy and tear-stained. 🌧️

God’s daily mercy never erases your losses or asks you to move on as though they didn’t completely change you. 

His renewal meets you inside the trial, giving you exactly what you need to keep breathing, to get through another day, to trust Him with a micro-step. 👣

The Bible often describes renewal with images of plowing, planting, and waiting, a process that involves lots of waiting. 

Plowing is not pretty work. 😫

It literally breaks the ground open.

It disrupts what’s settled.

It exposes the inner parts of the earth.

It happens long before you see a hint of green growth. 

Friend, if you’re walking into 2026 with grief, you may be in a season of plowing. But God’s not absent in the tearing and turning of the soil of your heart. He’s very present there, working quietly and carefully with the tender pieces of your heart. 

Scripture says, “When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.” (Psalm 84:6) 

Now, I KNOW how ridiculous this verse sounds when you’re right smack in the middle of the Valley of Weeping. HOW? 🤯 How can it ever be a place of refreshment? Of blessing? 

And yet God reminds us in Isaiah 43:19: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” 

God doesn’t demand celebration when it hurts so bad. But He offers us these promises as loving reassurance that He is STILL working, even here. He’s renewing you right now, even if all you can do today is breathe. 🫶 

Take courage, dear friend. He doesn’t waste a drop of your costly, precious tears. 

What Do I Do With This Sadness Now?

I know that hearing these truths doesn’t magically erase your pain and flood you with peace. 

It’s still 2026. 

It still hurts. 

This is reality. 

I also realize that truth can seem frustratingly far away when your emotions are heavy and loud. Knowing the truth doesn’t automatically steady the waves of emotion or give your energy for the day ahead. 

Truth lands best when we support our knowledge of it with tiny, small habits. ⚓ Nothing demanding or overwhelming, I know that’s asking too much right now. 

I want to gently introduce you to the virtual Jesus challenge. It’s not a prescription to “do better” or an intense performance-based challenge. 🤸

This is a simple invitation to show up with Jesus every day, exactly as you are. Unshowered hair. Stretched-out sweatpants. No put-together-ness, spiritual or otherwise. You can lay down all performance and expectations (even from yourself), and just take on the posture of a child: small, transparent, dependent. 👶

This Jesus virtual challenge gives you manageable, bite-sized on-ramps to open your heart to Jesus every day. Yes, even in heavy sadness. The goal is NOT to fix your sadness, but to invite Him to meet you inside it. It’s an opportunity to receive daily Bread instead of forcing your way towards healing. 

So if all you can do right now is show up with a weary heart, you’re the perfect fit for this virtual Christian walking challenge. 🧎

The Virtual Jesus Challenge is For You 

Trusting God right now looks like showing up tired with unanswered questions, desperate for some kind of relief in the present moment.

 

I know this doesn’t usually align with the influencers you see on social media, but don't be discouraged. That’s GOOD! This raw, vulnerable reality you’re in is the most honest, real form of faith. ⭐

That’s what I designed the virtual Jesus challenge for: to support people learning how to rest, depend, and stay open to God in seasons they didn’t choose. 

No part of this challenge asks you to erase 2025 or pretend it didn’t change you. Instead, it opens up a simple, easy door for God to meet you in the messy middle of your hurt. 🚪

If the word “challenge” makes you recoil, I get it! You might think: 

• "I don’t have energy for one more thing."

• "I don’t want to start something I can’t finish."

• "I’m already so exhausted. How could I ever succeed at this?" 

I’d like to reframe this challenge for you: it’s not a challenge you complete. It’s a place you REST. 

There’s no pressure or expectation on you in this challenge. The goal is not reaching Day 40. The goal is every real-life, up-and-down day before Day 40. It’s like a puzzle: you work on a puzzle to slow down and give yourself a break, but you don’t race to finish because then it’s over. 

Every day of the Jesus virtual challenge you get to lean back and receive His loving ministry and care over you instead of striving to heal yourself.

 

Nothing is needed from you. If all you can bring is weariness and weakness, that’s enough. That’s exactly what He wants. 🥹

The last thing you need right now is another “fresh start.” You need simple, slow, pressure-free habits that increase your awareness of God’s presence. 

Come exactly as you are. 

Stay as long as you want. 

Make it your own. 

This is a quiet, restful space where God meets you without expectation and with new mercies to soothe your aching heart. 🌱 

Sign Up For the Jesus Virtual Challenge