2026 - Peace

As I was journalling and praying through what my word for 2026 would be, the first thing that came to mind was ‘present’. I thought about how I will be going on maternity leave and want to be focused on being present with my baby and Jacob. But that just felt like my own word so I started looking through some Bible verses around this topic and I landed on ‘be still’. I came across 2 beautiful verses - Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him, fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices” and Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth”. But still, neither of those felt quite right. And then I came across one of my longtime favourite verses, Isaiah 26:3 which says “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.” And I thought, yes!! This is the verse, and my word for 2026 is ‘peace’. 

When I first thought about the word peace, I was excited. Finally a more encouraging word of the year rather than a challenging one like 'strength' which was from last year. Then as I thought about what having peace would mean in the year when we will be adjusting to a newborn (& the sleepless nights, worry and new learning that comes from it), I began to see that it would not be so easy after all! Keeping my mind fixed on Him and trusting in Him this year as I become a mother, is going to be my biggest trust exercise yet. The other day, it had been a few hours since I had felt the baby move and I started to panic very quickly. I wished for time to hurry up so I could have the baby in my arms and be able to check at any time that they are breathing and all is well. Then I realised that they are just as, if not more vulnerable on the outside, and I can’t watch them 24/7. I will need to trust God to watch over my baby when I sleep, which seemed even more daunting. That moment really confirmed to me that Isaiah 26:3 and clinging to God’s peace and putting my trust in Him will be so important this year. 

Preparing for a baby arriving in less than 2 months time, means there is a lot on my mind. Lots to organise practically and lots to emotionally/mentally prepare for with the birth and then taking care of a newborn. I have been doing so much research through books, youtube videos, birth courses etc so that I could feel prepared and ready for this huge exciting life change, but this verse stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me that my peace for birth doesn’t come from watching positive birth videos. My peace comes from Him and Him alone. And my mind doesn’t need to be fixated on my to-do list and making sure I have everything I need for when baby arrives, it needs to be ‘stayed on Him’. 

Peace is not something that is determined by circumstances. Peace comes from trusting God and resting in Him despite any chaos or busyness or worry around us. There may not seem like much peace in our house when we are up all night with a crying baby who won’t sleep but that doesn't mean I won’t be able to have true God given peace that ‘surpasses all understanding’ and ‘will guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:6-7). Not getting overwhelmed and actually walking in His peace is going to be way easier said than done, but I am so grateful that ‘His mercies are new every morning’ (Lamentations 3:23) and every time I turn to worry and stress, He will be right there to lead me back into His peace and give me the grace that I will need to get through each hard moment.

If you feel like you are stepping into a year of unknowns, or everything already feels chaotic and we’re only a few weeks in, and you are needing some of His peace, then I invite you to join me in ‘keeping our minds fixed on Him’ so that we can live our lives from a place of trust, and not worry in 2026.