2026: The Way Ahead
Writing, Spaces, Encounter
As this new year begins to stretch out in front of us, I want to take a moment to name the way ahead – not as a fixed plan, or a set of promises, but as the shape of what feels faithful to keep showing up to, as I continue to listen.
This is less “here’s what’s coming” and more “here’s what I’m staying with – for now.”
What Is Continuing
Some things aren’t changing – and that feels important to say.
The writing here will continue. The blog posts. The reflections. The emails that arrive in your inbox.
The Radical Recall to Rest is still out there too – still being read, shared, and finding its way into people’s hands. If you’d like to explore or pass it on, you can find it here.
The conversations will continue. One-to-one listening spaces. Emails that turn into something deeper. Honest chats about faith, tiredness, questions, and what it means to keep going.
And Growing with God will continue – creating simple, reflective spaces where people can slow down, notice, and breathe again.
I’m not trying to reinvent things this year. I’m choosing to stay with what has already proved meaningful. I find myself returning to three simple questions. Not questions I’m trying to answer quickly, or resolve neatly – but ones I’m learning to live with.
What feels worth protecting? What seems to be emerging? And what keeps me coming back, even when the answers aren’t clear yet?
I’m holding these questions lightly as I move into the months ahead, and you’re welcome to hold them too – not as a framework to follow, but as a way of paying attention to your own life, at your own pace.
What Feels Worth Protecting? – Writing.
A few weeks ago, after some proper time at my desk, I felt joy in a way I hadn’t for a while. It caught me off guard. Writing doesn’t solve everything for me, but in a world that often feels dark and demanding, it’s one of the things that helps me keep going.
It’s one of the ways I slow myself down enough to notice what’s really going on. It helps me stay connected – to my own inner life, to God, and to the questions that I take pleasure (mostly) in pondering.
Some of this writing will be shared. A lot of it won’t be. Both feel necessary.
So one of my intentions this year is simply to protect time and space to write – without needing everything to become content, or justify its usefulness.
You might find yourself asking similar questions:
What can I do, or where can I be to help me stay grounded?
What is worth protecting, even if no one else ever sees it?
What Seems To Be Emerging? – Spaces.
Alongside the writing, I keep noticing how much life happens in small, ordinary spaces. Conversations that aren’t hurried. Rooms where people can show up as they are. Moments where silence is allowed to do some of the work.
Growing with God continues to grow in this way – not as something to scale or systemise, but as a way of holding space carefully and attentively.
I’m paying attention to where these spaces already seem to be forming, rather than trying to force new ones into existence.
It makes me wonder:
Where do I feel able to breathe?
What kinds of spaces help me feel more human, not less?
What Keeps Me Coming Back? – Encounter.
At the heart of all of this is encounter.
Encounter with myself – noticing limits, tiredness, hope, and desire without trying to fix or explain them away.
Encounter with God – not manufactured or dramatic, but found in slowness, stillness, and ordinary moments.
Encounter with others – listening without agenda, being present without needing to solve anything.
These moments are often quiet. Easy to miss. Rarely impressive. And yet, they’re what keep drawing me back – what continue to feel most sustaining. As this year unfolds, I want to keep making myself available to encounter in these simple ways, and to keep noticing where it’s already happening.
Beyond these things, I’m holding the rest of the year lightly.
I’m open to what may emerge – including the possibility of returning more intentionally to photography. If last year was about rediscovering writing, perhaps this year will be about rediscovering photography. Who knows?
There’s no firm plan. Just a willingness to pay attention. And then, do the next right thing.
Josh | A Curious Follower
Walking Together
If you’ve been reading, sharing, supporting, or simply staying curious alongside this work – thank you. It really does matter.
There’s no pressure. Just an open invitation.