As I reflect on 2025…and look forward to 2026
As I reflect on 2025…
This year has held both the sweetest gifts and the hardest heartbreak I’ve ever known. It has been a year where life changed in an instant… and yet God never left my side.
The first part of 2025 felt steady and full of blessing:
we stood in the snow together, unaware of how precious that moment would become
we learned another grandbaby was on the way
we took our last family photo together
we celebrated 30 years of marriage — a lifetime of love in one photo frame
we watched our youngest graduate high school
we found out we would welcome our first granddaughter
we took our last picture together just a few days before 
Those memories are stitched into my heart. I thought we had more time. I thought the next chapters would be written the same way the others were — with his hand in mine.
Our wedding photo (1995) sums up our whole marriage exactly. Me...always a bit rattled and him, calm cool and collected. My husband was my rock — the voice of reason, the calm in every storm, the one I could lean on without question. And just like the ZZ Top song he loved so much, “Sharp Dressed Man,” he carried himself with that same quiet confidence and strength. As I laid my own “sharp dressed man” to rest, I knew — even in the heartbreak — that he would be with me in everything I do. Not gone… just gone ahead.
and now...
When I could no longer reach for his hand, I reached for God’s.
And He met me there.
Grief is a journey I never asked for, but God is walking it with me. On the days I can’t stand, He stands for me. On the days I don’t have words, He hears my heart anyway. On the days I fall apart, He holds every broken piece gently in His hands.
This year taught me that faith is not found in having all the answers — it’s found in trusting the One who carries us when we don’t. I don’t move forward because I’m strong. I move forward because He is.
As I step into 2026, I do so with a hopeful heart. Not because everything is easy, but because God is faithful. He has been close, present, steady, and He has never once let go.
To my family and friends, and the community that has lifted me up — thank you. You have held me together in ways you may never fully know. Your love, prayers, meals, hugs, messages, and presence have been a lifeline. I am forever grateful.
And now I carry his legacy forward — with faith in my steps, love in my heart, and God’s hand in mine.
Love you forever, my sharp dressed man.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18
