“2025 Recap: Faithful Through the Fire”

 2025 wasn’t about perfection—it was about perseverance. In this special recap episode of Unrelated Sisters: Truth & Grace Conversation, I reflect on a year marked by loss, waiting, healing, and unwavering faith. From quiet seasons to bold obedience, this episode is a testimony of God’s faithfulness through every high and low. If you’re closing out a hard year or stepping into a new one with hope, this conversation is for you. 

Key Verse:
📖 Isaiah 43:2 – “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”

Truth:
 “God didn’t remove every storm—but He never left me in one.”

Key Verse:
📖 Habakkuk 2:3 – “Though it tarries, wait for it…”

Truth:
 “My voice mattered—even when I felt small.”

Key Verse:
📖 Revelation 12:11 – “They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”

Truth:
 “Healing didn’t make me quiet—it made me bold.”

“Maybe 2025 wasn’t what you expected either.
 Maybe you’re closing this year tired—but still believing.”

“Still standing is not small.”

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for your mercy, your blessings, and your grace, Lord Jesus. Thank you for being patient with me. Please give me the strength and your voice today to say the things that you want me to say. I know I've been I've been lost for a little while, but give me the strength today to do what you want me to do, to hear your voice, to listen to your your words, and to share them with the people that need to hear them. Lord Jesus, I thank you for this podcast and I thank you for the audience that we do have and the audience that we're going to grow into this year. I praise you and I give you all the glory today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Welcome back, listeners to Unrelated Sisters Truth and Grace Conversation. I know it's been a hot minute, and you know, I apologize. Um, I did the uh I did the podcast with my dad, and when we got done, I was on such a high. Like I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait for the next week. I couldn't wait for the next podcast. I couldn't wait for this. I couldn't wait for that. And then life got in the way, right? Um you know, we did the podcast, and you know, I talk about my job and I work in retail. And uh when uh you know the holidays in retail can can can push a person. It can emotionally drain you, it can physically drain you, it can, you know, it gives you brain fog, I promise. We, you know, we work a lot of hours and we do a lot of things, but that's no excuse, right? You know, I I talk constantly about pushing forward, about listening to God, about you know, hearing his voice, and honestly, I have to thank him, right? So the over the last month since uh the last podcast, other than him telling me, hey, you know, this person needs prayer or this person needs help, or you know, um, don't you want to do this? Um, he's really not been on me about the podcast. And and and I have to thank him for that because a lot has happened uh over this last month. Um, you know, uh a lot of things happened and it kind of just full circled this year that we have had on this podcast, you know, uh 2025, it was never about perfection. It was never about likes or followers, or it was never about those that you know the internet craze or whatever. It was about being in the presence of God. And it was about, you know, telling our stories and and talking about things, excuse me, things that y'all wanted us to talk about, things that God laid on our heart. You know, every episode didn't go the way I thought it would go. You know, I would work on an episode for a week or so, and then and sometimes I worked on them for a month. Sometimes I worked on them, you know, I would be working on one and the day of that we were going to record, something else would come about, and that would be the one we do that day. And some of them I've wrote and that we haven't even done. And you know, it's hard to believe that April will be a year that we've been doing our podcast, and that you know, things have have definitely come full circle, I believe. Um, you know, this year has been marked by a lot of different things. Um, it's been marked by loss. You know, we talked about Deborah and her father-in-law um this December. I lost my aunt unexpectedly. Um and and I had guilt to deal with with that incidence. Um he um my aunt, that's you know, that was the person that protected me when I was in my in my days of haze and in my days of addiction. Um, I always knew I could go to her house and she would feed me and she'd give me a safe place to sleep. And and, you know, she didn't judge me for the things that I did. But when I got clean, I couldn't go around her, right? Um, I couldn't do those things. You know, and I I think about it this year, and I think about all the, you know, all the testimonies that we've heard personally from me, from Deborah, from Haley, from my dad, from Kina, all the people, guests that came, you know, all we have to do, all we can do is thank God for carrying us through it and carrying us through 2025. You know, um, this year didn't go how I planned, but it went how God intended it to, I believe. I truly believe that, and you have to. Talking about loss and grief, uh, when my aunt passed away, you know, here in December, um, I had to deal with some some guilt and some I wish I had of conversations with me and God, you know, and the one thing he told me was Isaiah 42, 43, 2, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. You know, God didn't remove every storm from me this year. He didn't stop me from feeling guilty, he didn't stop me for feeling lonely, he didn't stop the whispers of the devil, but he never left me in one. He never left me in a storm for too long, for longer than I could handle, or for longer than it took for me to come to a realization. Uh, you know, I don't know. Um there's been moments where, you know, like I said, after the after the podcast with my dad, you know, I felt energized, and then all of a sudden, I felt tired. Every day I come home, I was so tired, you know, and I had people reaching out and saying, Have I missed the podcast? Is something going on? You know, and I apologize for not coming on and telling you guys that I needed a break. I apologize. I just didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to do it. I didn't know what to say. I didn't I didn't want to disappoint y'all. Um, I didn't want to disappoint myself for not just doing it. You know, I didn't want to I didn't want to let anybody down. I didn't want to let God down. You know, I went through um emotionally. I went through it physically, I've been sick, um, you know, I've had a stomach virus, I've had upper respiratory infection, I've just I've, you know, December has not been nice to me. Um but I know each of you understand, and I know God understands. And so we're gonna finish this recap of 2025, and we are going to write down some things and we're just gonna let it go. 2025 is in our past, and 2026 is just ahead of us. You know, we talked a lot about finding our purpose, um, and I feel I feel like I have definitely felt my purpose with God. I feel like um he's definitely given me a voice. Um, I'm excited to talk about God. I'm excited to talk about where he's brought me from. I'm excited about hearing other people's stories and and you know, I chased a high for 20 years. A high like I never felt again after that very first high. But every time I hear a story of redemption or a story of redeeming, or a story of of God showing up, I feel that high all over again. And if you're still lost and you're still missing something in your life, and you're still chasing after a feeling, or you're still chasing after something to cover a blockage in your heart, I beg you, I beg you to hit your knees today and pray the prayer to Jesus and just ask him to come into your heart and ask him to be a part of your life. And it's not easy, right? It's not that you know, it's not like tomorrow you wake up and you're a different person. But tomorrow you wake up and something you would do when you first woke up that gives you that wouldn't bother you before will give you conviction. And it starts out with small things and then it grows into bigger and bigger things, and you dig into the word and you dig into prayer. And if you don't know how to pray, you know how to talk. Talk to him, ask Jesus questions. He doesn't answer them right away. It's not like in talking to your sister, but he does answer them, you know. Showing up for the podcast sometimes for me or for Deborah felt very heavy, felt very in the way, it felt very inconvenient. You know, in Huckabah 2-3, though it tears, tarries, wait for it. You know, my voice mattered even when I felt small. And he's definitely showed me that this year. Um, I've heard more people tell me this last month that I haven't done my podcast, ask about it, which just is reassurance that I'm doing the right thing, that people are listening, and that we are headed in the right direction. You know, um, obedience. We've talked about that a lot. Um, you know, talking truth instead of waiting to feel ready. Um, and sometimes it's just about being honest, and that's where 2026 is coming. You know, we're gonna be just as honest in 2026 as we were in 2025. We're gonna continue to do healing for us and for you. We hope we we're gonna continue to do testimonies and we hope to grow. You know, I think we talked a lot about forgiveness and emotional healing and God using our pies to help others. And, you know, um, when my aunt passed away, um my uncle Frank came down and we went to Providence Ministries Wednesday night service and he preached on you know on redemption and sitting in that room for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was in church. I felt like God was sitting in the bench next to us, and I felt like I was in church. And don't get me wrong, the churches with the lights and the wonderful choirs and the and the great preachers and the the small churches with the the hellfire brimstone preachers and the old hymnals and the and the sense of community and all of those God's presence is there when they invite Him in when it's not inconvenient for them. But when you come from where we come from, and you gather us together, and we all have hope, and some of us haven't had hope in a long time, it's a different kind of presence, you know. It says in the Bible to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and it says to love thy neighbor, and it doesn't it's not meaning to love thy neighbor, the one that's just like you, or the one that thinks like you, or the one that dresses like you, or the one that acts like you, the one that drives a car like you, the one that mothers like you, the one that does this or does that just like you. It's hard to love those that you don't, they're not like you, and that's the ones you should be loving. You know, you should be excited to talk about God, excited to talk about what he does for you. Um in Revelation 12, 11, they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, you know, healing, and and you don't heal of everything right away, and sometimes you heal of things you didn't know you needed to, but healing didn't make me quit, it just made me bolder. You know, there would be times that me and Deborah would start a podcast in one direction, and by the end of it, I was the one healing, I was the one that needed to hear it. Even though when we started, I didn't know that. But sometimes, you know, God has to be like, bam, and I have to be, yes, sir, I hear you, right? Uh, and we've talked about that a lot. So this hasn't been a very long episode, and it's not meant to be. I just kind of wanted to get my voice back out there, let y'all know that um 2026 is coming, and I've definitely been writing this month. I've been uh writing episodes and and and reading my Bible and praying over this podcast, even though I haven't been able to speak into it. Um, so maybe 2025 wasn't what you expected it either. Maybe you're closing this year tired, but still believing. Still standing is not a small feat. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for carrying us through every unseen battle of this year. Thank you for growth we didn't notice, strength we didn't ask for, and grace we didn't earn. As we step into a new season, help us move forward with faith, not fear. We trust you with what's next. We know that your plan is best. We're excited to see where you take us this year, Lord Jesus, with the podcast, with our families, with the hands and feet of Jesus, with helping others and with leading groups and with doing all the things that you want us to do. Please help us to be better stewards of our time. Please help us, please help me to pray to you first and not let the humanity get in my way of what you want me to do. Give me strength this year to let you use me when you want to use me, not just because I can. In Jesus' name, we pray. We give you all the glory and we give you all the grace. Amen.