Start Again
Spring has a way of making us want to try again.
Maybe you started 2026 with real intention—a resolution, a commitment, a promise to yourself or to God. And maybe, somewhere between January and now, it quietly slipped. The early mornings with your Bible lasted two weeks. The sugar stayed. The negative thoughts you swore you'd leave behind hitched a ride into the new year without being invited.
If that's you, you are in very good company.
A few years ago, I stumbled across a popular diet book and decided I was all in. I dove headfirst into meal planning, new recipes, and grocery lists that looked nothing like my usual cart. It lasted about a month. The problem wasn't willpower alone—it was that I hadn't thought it through. I eat out often, and the diet didn't translate well to restaurants. I sat across from friends enjoying nachos, chimichangas, and chips with queso while I nursed a plate of grilled vegetables. I quoted Philippians 4:13 under my breath more times than I can count: "I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." And then one evening, I looked at the basket of chips and the little bowl of queso and made my peace. That diet was done.
I laugh about it now. But I also learned something important from that experience and from a second resolution I attempted not long after—one I made just as impulsively and abandoned just as quietly. I learned two things I had skipped both times:
I hadn't prayed about it first. I hadn't asked the Lord whether the commitment was right for this season, or whether it was even His idea. And I hadn't asked anyone to walk alongside me. Accountability isn't a sign of weakness—it's wisdom. My husband George and I have made a point this year of keeping each other accountable both spiritually and physically. These bodies are temples, after all, and temples require some upkeep. As 1 Corinthians 3:26 says:
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?"
I want to ask you something that might make you smile: have you ever asked God what He thinks your resolution should be? I started doing that, and it changed everything. There are things I bring to Him that might seem small or even silly—but they matter to me, and so He cares about them too. Doing life with Jesus in every area—not just the "spiritual" ones—is one of the greatest privileges we have. He is not waiting at the church door. He wants to be in the middle of your Tuesday afternoon, your meal planning, your thought life, your habits.
As Jesus reminds us:
"I came that [you] may have life, and have it abundantly." —John 10:10 ESV
"I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of His calling—that is, the wealth of God's glorious inheritance that He finds in us, His holy ones!" —Ephesians 1:18 TPT
That verse stops me every time. God finds His inheritance in us. His investment is in you. Which means when you slip, He is not finished with you—He is still at work in you.
So if the old patterns followed you into this new season, here is what I want you to hear: stand back up. Not in your own strength, but in His. The goal was never for you to white-knuckle your way through change. The goal is to lean into the One who changes us from the inside out. Pray first. Find your person. Give yourself grace. And start again—as many times as it takes.
Let's Pray
Lord, I have slipped more times than I can count when it comes to the things I promised myself and You. But Your mercy and grace are always there—ready to help me get back up, dust off, and step back on the path. Thank You for Your patience with me. Sometimes I feel like a failure, but You have never once called me that. You remind me that this is a journey, and it will not be complete until I see You face to face. Thank You for the encouragement You give me—through Scripture, through the people around me, and through the quiet whisper that says: start again.
Amen.
