embracing 2026
sneaking in one more (messy) post before the end of the year
Yesterday was sort of dream weather in Nashville for a Florida girl like me. Sunny, low 70s, lots of clouds, a small breeze. It being the week between Christmas and New Years, it’s also really quiet around town.
We are in the final days of baby watch, and most of the to-do’s are done. I knew this morning we were waking up to sub-20s temps so I decided to spend the afternoon reading on our back porch. It felt like a rare luxury. After finishing a chapter, I spent some time just watching the clouds. It was the first time in months I can remember actually feeling relaxed. Content. At ease. I didn’t want to, or feel the need to be anywhere or be doing anything else.
My mind felt slow and uncluttered. My heart rate became steady, although being this pregnant, my breath was still a little heavy! But I finally could really think clearly. I’ve got this thing with looking at the sky–it helps me remember that it’s not falling, that God is still in control, and everything really will be okay. And I don’t do it nearly often enough.
But there are still a lot of things we hoped would happen this year that didn’t. And yesterday God gave me the permission to admit that. That I could hold disappointment and joy at the same time.
Praying into the next year, I have been worried. I have a lot of fears about motherhood. All the usual ones like: What will change? Will I know what I am doing? What is life going to look like?
But also I feel a shift in my identity. While I think being a mom is one of the most beautiful and important roles I can undertake, and something I’ve dreamed of my entire life, I don’t want being a mom to become my whole personality. Can I still be me even after adding this role?
She’s not even here yet and suddenly a new group of people are interested in getting closer to me. It’s all people want to talk about. And I find myself resisting it because I was a whole person before I got pregnant, and I don’t want to default to only having mom friends, or only talking about my child. Maybe that’s the wrong way to think about it. I don’t have those thoughts tidied up yet, maybe I will have more soon. For now, I’m just sharing the messy ones with you.
I also haven’t known how to be present in writing or online because pregnancy has mostly been what is going on, and I want to be sensitive to my friends who want to be in this season. It’s hard not to carry guilt for getting to have something other people want. Especially when they are people I love so dearly.
Plus, I have been the girl talking about feeling behind for years, and even though I still have those same feelings some days, my life has changed so drastically these past few years, I don’t know what to share anymore. Are people expecting me to share and encourage in certain ways? If I’m not talking about the same type of stuff as I was before, would people leave?
Instead, I just avoided being online all together. I know that wasn’t the right move, but I let fear keep me from trying anyway.
So, now what? Where do I go from here? How do I look ahead to a new year and ask God for vision when I have no idea what’s ahead?
I have opted to forgo my usual goal-setting for next year. But I’ve made Pinterest boards and asked God to give me a word for the year and increase my hope for what is ahead. Earlier this month, I was stuck in traffic driving home from the gym and a word came clearly to my mind: embrace.
Embrace (verb): to avail oneself of; welcome
Accept, cherish, love, hug
The opposite of reject
One thing I have not done in 2025? Embrace it. I have fought tooth and nail against embracing–clinging to control, resisting change, rejecting anything that was not my plan. It’s made me both anxious and exhausted.
Getting that word woke something up in me. I became painfully aware of how I was white-knuckling and naval-gazing. It reminded me that my life is not about me, my wants, my desires, my plans. This life, above everything else, is temporary. And the disappointment, delays and doubts aren’t meant to derail me; they are designed to make me dream of eternity.
One of my phrases since writing You Are Not Behind is “love it here”. It’s been the theme of how I want to encourage you (and me) to love where we are even if it’s not what we want. Not because we need to feel good about ourselves, but so we trust in our faithful and good Father. “Love it here” feels like it goes with “embrace” to me.
So here’s how I’m walking into 2026:
Embracing an unknown season of becoming a mom.
Embracing an unknown version of myself and who I will become this year.
Embracing my postpartum body in ways I couldn’t embrace my pregnant one.
Embracing where we live, even if we don’t know how long we are going to be here.
Embracing God being in control over my life and that is better than me being in control.
Embracing showing up imperfectly, even if that makes me at risk of being misunderstood.
Embracing the new ways I will experience joy and hope.
Embracing my daughter in my arms.
Embracing my husband without my belly in the way.
Embracing no plans.
Embracing slowness.
Embracing weakness.
Embracing presence.
Even above all that, allowing myself to fall into God’s loving embrace of me. Just as we see in Luke 15:20, I want to let God be my Father.
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 (NIV)
While this year is going to be mostly centered around the year of becoming a mom, I still have some small goal-type things on my list. Like mastering a polished makeup routine. Having a closet that makes me want to not just wear workout clothes, but also doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed with options. Starting a new book writing project. Trying to show up consistently here. Realistically + sustainably returning to pre-pregnancy things I loved to do for exercise like running and learning to play tennis. Reading more than scrolling. Finding a meal plan → grocery shopping → cooking system that I enjoy more than I dread.
Can’t wait to see what He does with each of our stories next year.
Full of hope…
Always,
Meghan
I loved the authenticity of this post!! It’s like grabbing coffee with a friend and hearing what’s on their mind. This felt real, open, beautiful, and holy. Praying for you as you embrace 2026!
Great article. Thank you for sharing all of that. Best of luck with motherhood.
I have been doing a word rather than goals for many years. Often times I’ll think of one word months before and then pray over it and then out of the blue one day a completely different word will pop into my head to where I know it is from Him. My word this year is Growth. Originally I was leaning on Grace as the word but I feel through growth I’ll learn to give myself grace.