The Standard January 3, 2026
One year ago, I never had heard of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or if I had, it did not register. The evening of January 21, 2025 our church’s mission team, which originally was heading to western NC to aid in clean-up and repair, met and decided not to leave the next morning due to an impending snowstorm.
On January 22, my husband woke up and could not feel his fingers or his toes, and had horrible back pain. His super diagnostician of a physician jumped on the problems immediately, with much questioning and testing. After ruling out various possibilities over the course of several days, our doctor’s connection with a neurologist got Rocky in for an after-hours appointment on the very day it became obvious that he needed special help. Thank God, my husband was admitted to the hospital right away and received IVIG infusions for five consecutive days. Another huge point of praise was that he never lost his ability to walk. It was a long, extremely challenging four months of recovery and rehabilitation, and was a major reminder of how quickly life can change. There were thoughts at the very beginning of his GBS that retirement in a few years could look a lot different than the dream.
Our perspectives easily can change in one year. On December 2 we just became grandparents. In 2025 several good friends have lost parents. Some have been diagnosed with cancer or life-altering diseases. Others have lost jobs or faced financial crisis. Some have gotten engaged or married, been renewed in their faith, found faith, had babies, or enjoyed wonderful adventures.
We have little idea what 2026 might bring. Likely, there will be highs and lows. It is important for us to have a well-built foundation, which is especially helpful when the inevitable difficult times arise. As Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise person who built their house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7: 24-25
During the ups and downs and in-betweens, may we live with the purpose of embracing God’s grace and sharing his love. The United Methodist Book of Worship contains a funeral prayer which is relevant every day. “Help us to live as those who are prepared to die. And when our days here are accomplished, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in you, and that nothing in life or in death will be able to separate us from your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
celiastone 