Kindly, Kayla 🌼

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” John 15:4-6 ESV

Abide – to dwell, remain, stay, or continue. The Greek word for “abide” is μένω (men-o), meaning to live, lodge, or make your permanent residence.

As the days led up to 2026, I started to see a lot of content on YouTube and various podcasts about vision boards, becoming the person you’re supposed to be, locking in, goals, New Year’s resolutions, rebranding, transforming your life, and more. In the past, I myself have created vision boards and set a word for the year about how I want my year to look.

However, as I began to think about what I wanted 2026 to look like, something within me didn’t want to write a blog post about my goals, plans, and expectations for the new year. I didn’t want to make another vision board, planning my life away.

Why?

Because apart from Christ, I can do nothing. If you read the verses above, we see that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. If we abide in Him, we can bear much fruit, BUT apart from Him we can do nothing. Absolutely nothing!!!!!! So this 2026, I don’t have big plans; I don’t have a well-thought-out strategy for how life will look this year. I don’t want to try and fix myself or make myself better. This year, I want to abide in Christ and let Him make the changes in me that I need.

If you think about a plant, it can’t grow itself. It takes tending, pruning, water, sunlight, nutrients, food, and more. They can’t take care of themselves. They can’t say I’m going to make myself big, tall, and strong. They need a gardener. And just like them, we need a gardener too. 

So this 2026, I encourage you to seek Christ before you try and plan out your life. God is the one who orders our steps and makes a plan for us. And I don’t want to make my own plan and miss out on all the beautiful things God has for me. 

I’m not saying that having goals is wrong; I just think it is wise to seek God and His counsel and let Him lead us to where we need to be. At the end of the day, we can make all the plans we want, but ultimately God’s plan will prevail. I’ve seen that in my own life for sure. I have no control, and honestly, I’m grateful that I can surrender my life over to God because Lord knows if I lead, I’d be in the wrong place. Thankfully, God is in control, never letting me out of his sight!! What a wonderful Father. 

I hope that 2026 is a year filled with God’s mercies and blessings. I pray that we let go of the striving and just rest in being God’s daughter or son. May He do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ever ask for or think.

Happy New Year.

Kindly,

Kayla

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬