A Year of Sundays: 51st (12/21/25)

Resilience — The Quiet Strength Within

Resilience is the perfect theme for this Sunday, the closing stretch of a year that has tested, stretched, and ultimately strengthened so many of us. What an amazing year — so challenging and yet so profoundly special.

Earlier this week, my son-in-law remarked that I still live in a “fantasy world of laws and rights,” a place where fairness and integrity are assumed constants. His comment lingered with me as I watched the week’s unsettling news unfold. I found myself asking aloud into the quiet of my home, “When did this become the norm—and when will it end?” That question hung heavy in the air.

For a moment, I felt something unfamiliar: helplessness. It was a strange, hollow feeling, one that almost pulled me under. But then, like sunlight breaking through clouds, my affirmations and meditative practices resurfaced, reminding me that resilience is not about denying difficulty — it is about enduring through it with grace.

C. S. Lewis once wrote, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” Those words remind me that even in times of uncertainty, we are being shaped and tempered by life’s pressures. The cracks do not signify weakness; they are where our strength begins to shine through.

J. R. R. Tolkien echoed this truth in The Fellowship of the Ring: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” This single line carries profound wisdom — a call to action for moments when the world feels unrecognizable. We may not control the tides of global change, but we do control our response.

Resilience, then, becomes a sacred choice — the quiet decision to stay grounded, compassionate, and aware even when the ground beneath us shifts.

As I move into this final week before the year’s end, I’m reminded that strength is not the absence of fear but the ability to move forward despite it. I will continue to reaffirm my values, nurture my peace, and stay anchored in hope.

Reflection Affirmation: I am resilient. I am rooted in grace and guided by purpose. The world may change, but my spirit remains steady and strong.

References

Lewis, C. S. (1952). Mere Christianity. HarperOne.

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954). The fellowship of the ring. Allen & Unwin.