I had so many things to do: finish work on my daughter's farm records before taking them to the tax preparer, clean up the mess in the kitchen from the previous night's disaster with the wafflemaker, shower, dress, and so forth.
At her husband's passing, this author faced the loss of custody of her children as well. Through prayer and trust in God, however, she won the right to raise them on her own.
Now is the time when people start talking in earnest about the resolutions they plan to make in the coming year. But a resolution made simply because January is here probably won't result in lasting gain. True renewal isn't the province of a single season or of a particular phase in one's life. It's an ongoing process of discovering one's connection to God.