As we head into a new year, our social feeds fill with highlight reels: the promotions, the perfect photos, the milestones, the celebrations, and the resolutions made with fresh energy.

But I want to speak to the Michigan moms, families, and women who quietly whisper,

“I’m just proud I made it through this year.”

If that’s you—please know this: you are not alone.

This past year, my own life looked nothing like the shiny year-end posts you see online. My husband and I walked through two pregnancy losses—an ectopic pregnancy in November 2024 and then a miscarriage that followed. It was heartbreaking, exhausting, and emotionally disorienting. There were days I didn’t feel like myself… days where simply showing up was the biggest victory I had.

So, to the women in Metro Detroit, Livonia, Ann Arbor, or anywhere across Michigan who are trying to conceive, grieving silently, or battling fertility challenges:

I see you.

I hear you.

And I honor the strength it took to make it through this year.

Whether this year brought you chaos, healing, heartbreak, or survival mode, your resilience is real and worthy—even if nobody else sees the work you’ve done beneath the surface.

In the stillness, in the uncertainty, and in the ache, there is quiet growth. There is character forming. There is strength you don’t even realize you carry.

As Scripture reminds us:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

— James 1:2–3

My prayer—for you, for me, for any family walking through a difficult season—is that next year brings:

✨ Joy✨ Healing✨ Hope✨ Restoration✨ And moments that remind you you’re not walking this alone

If you made it through the year, that is more than enough.

Here’s to a gentler, softer, more joyful New Year for all Michigan families who need it.