February 22, 2026
With Jerry’s situation, our lives became upside down in many ways. Hospital schedules replaced family routines. Rehabilitation plans replaced long-term projects. Survival, recovery, and presence became our daily focus.
Right now, we are finishing Advent story when we are “supposed” to be starting our Lent preparation for Easter. By the calendar, we are behind.
But honestly? I am no longer worried about dates.
For me, what matters most in this season is emotional and spiritual bonding with my children asmuch as I can in our situation.
Walking our way together. Being present. Listening. Praying in the middle of real life, not ideal life.
Yes, we are not synchronized with everyone else.
Yes, our rhythm looks different.
And yes, we are behind and exactly where we are meant to be.
Because God knows our situation.
This season has reordered my priorities. When your husband is relearning how to walk, when your children are adjusting to uncertainty, when your energy is stretched thin — you begin to understand that faithfulness is not about precision. It is about presence.
Lent is not ultimately about starting on the correct date. It is about turning the heart. It is about surrender. It is about allowing God to shape us through a desert we are already walking.
And we are walking a desert.
But even here, I see something sacred.
I see questions that are deeper than before.
I see prayers that are shorter but more honest.
I see a faith that is less performative and more surrendered.
Structure exists to serve life — not to burden it. And again, we are reminded that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”
All things.
Even hospital corridors.
Even interrupted homeschool plans.
Even Lent that begins later than expected.
I believe that every hardship can be turned for good when we submit it to His will.
Not because suffering is easy. Not because chaos is pleasant. But because God is not confined to our calendars.
This season has taught me something important: being “behind” is a social concept. Faithfulness is relational.
If my child feels emotionally secure,
If my husband feels supported,
If my heart remains soft before God —
then we are not behind.
We are exactly on the path prepared for us.
And we will walk it — step by step.