We’ve come to a new year.

Again.

The clock keeps ticking and the calendar page inevitably turns.

Truth be told, I thought I had chosen this new word for 2026: Covenant

COVENANT:  Agreement or promise

In reality, I feel like it chose me. When I read this verse in Deuteronomy I knew that God was speaking right into my heart. My mama’s heart needed it and God’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect:

“Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9

You see, this verse from God’s word fit right into my story. While my story might be different than yours, the reality is the same:

God created me for a purpose–but it’s not just about me!

Not born by accident, He created and planned for me to be born for a specific time and place. Because He is God, He foreknew the family that I would be a part of, and numbered my days before they even began.

The knowledge that my parents and my grandparents had of Him mattered.

The choices they made to follow or not follow Him carried consequences far beyond their days on earth.

And so will mine.

While that might seem to carry a weight too heavy for any of us to bear, the responsibility is there nonetheless. What I do in this life will matter for eternity, and with every passing year I am reminded that every day is a gift that I don’t want to squander on things that carry little eternal value.

(Last year my word of the year was FOCUS based on 2 Corinthians 4:18-–“For we do not focus on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporal and what is unseen is eternal.”)

Now, practically speaking, of course, there are the day-to-day activities of life that are quite necessary, and I believe that we can honor God even in the mundane. The question might really be, does anything truly qualify as “mundane” if we are doing it with a heart of gratitude and purpose?

I have been many things, but by far, my most important role has been as a wife and a mother and now a grandmother. What a gift it is to love and be loved! The gift of family is one that I never want to take for granted.

Growing up with siblings in a much simpler time, my childhood was, for the most part, carefree. I could go out to play with the freedom to ride my bike without my parents having a clue where I was–with the expectation that I would always be back by mealtime. I always knew Mama would be home waiting for us, doing what mamas did (in my world): cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes, gardening, and generally making things smell good and look good.

While to some women that might seem like a burden, to her it was not. It was who she was. And I carried with me a desire to be just like her. Well, not just like her exactly–(she wore a bouffant hairdo and cat-eyed glasses in those days!), but I wanted to be more than a wife and a mom–I wanted to be a “homemaker”. I wanted all of it. I wanted my house to feel loving and welcoming and like home to anyone who walked through the door.

The problem with that ideal is that Mama often made it look easy and I rarely saw the difficulties that came with trying to keep up with all of the responsibilities of being a full time mom, along with the stigma of “not working”. As a pastor’s wife, there were added expectations, and too often I felt overwhelmed knowing that I could never be quite “good enough.” Starting out in a small church, our income was very limited and so trying to make sure we had all that we needed on a tight budget was a heavy burden.

Yet God provided.

Always.

God saw. He knew. And He always provided.

Sometimes right when we needed it, and other times after earnest prayer and soul searching. All of it necessary to teach us to depend on Him and to trust His goodness and His faithfulness.

I struggle now, though, because we live in a generation where so many are self-sufficient. Young adults whose parents sacrificed and struggled are not learning the lessons of service and sacrifice and surrender. They miss seeing God’s faithfulness even though–and maybe because they have been so blessed.

I have no regrets, other than that I didn’t trust Him more fully, didn’t talk about Him more openly. I fear that my children only saw the struggle–but missed seeing how God provided. How our contentment was not in what we had, but in the fact that God was faithful to give us what we really needed most–more of Him.

As a parent, I am constantly praying for my children and grandchildren–and even future generations. Not just that God would protect and provide for them, but that they would know Him. That they would see that He is a promise-keeping God who has shown us His faithfulness in His Word, but also in the lives of those that have gone before them. Both sets of grandparents knew Jesus. Some followed Him more closely than the others, each of them imperfect people who trusted Jesus to save them. It changed the trajectory of our family, and the spiritual heritage of my children. My husband’s family has a very similar story. When his grandfather was saved, a new chapter began and generations of Muntons have joined in this covenant of faith.

This verse in Deuteronomy is a promise. In it, God reminded me that He is sovereign. He is holy and righteous and just, and He is the one true God. Crying out in desperate prayer for my children and grandchildren’s protection and provision and salvation is a privilege and a responsibility, but the greater responsibility lies in my own obedience and faithfulness to Him. This covenant is personal. So what does He require? “…to those who love Him and keep His commands.” Micah 6:8 says it this way, “Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Don’t you see? God loves you and desires your faithful love in return. We will leave a legacy. The question I want to always keep in mind is, “will my legacy be one of love and faithfulness to God or will my descendants only see a pursuit of the temporal things of this world?” My covenant is to a God who not only loves me, but loves me enough to pursue me with His truth and faithful love. I am so grateful that I have a story to tell. That God is at the center of my story and that He has been for generations–and this verse is a promise that He will continue, long after I’m gone, to be faithful in the generations that follow.

Because God always keeps His promises.

Always.

Happy New Year 2026!

Want to join me in this Covenant? Memorize Deuteronomy 7:9 this year. Pray and watch how God will use this promise in your life as you trust in Him!

*My graphics are always free, so feel free to copy, paste, share, or use it as a screensaver. Whatever it takes to hide God’s Word in your heart! 💙