At the beginning of this year, I set a goal that felt both sacred and ambitious: read the entire Bible from cover to cover in one year. I had the plan, the bookmarks, the good intentions, and that fresh-January optimism that makes you believe this will be the year you do all the things.
And then… life happened.
Busy weeks turned into tired evenings. Some days I read deeply and felt moved. Other days I skimmed. Some seasons I stayed consistent, and other seasons I barely opened my Bible at all. As the year came to a close, I realized something quietly humbling: I didn’t quite finish. I came close but not all the way.
And surprisingly? I don’t feel defeated.
For a long time, I thought falling short meant failing. That if I didn’t complete the plan exactly as intended, the whole effort somehow didn’t count. But this year taught me something gentler and truer: God isn’t impressed by checklists. He cares about the posture of our hearts.
Even though I didn’t finish reading every single page, I did grow. I wrestled with hard passages. I found comfort in familiar Psalms. I saw Jesus more clearly in the Gospels. I learned things I didn’t know before, and I was reminded of things I desperately needed to remember again. That matters.
So instead of closing the year with guilt, I’m choosing to carry on with a clear heart and a good spirit.
I don’t want to rush Scripture just to say I finished it. I want to sit with it. To let it challenge me. To let it comfort me. To let it shape how I live, not just what I accomplish. Carrying on doesn’t mean starting over in shame, it means continuing in faith.
This experience has also stirred something else in me: a desire to show up more consistently here.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this platform and what I want it to be. Not a place of perfection or performative faith, but a space for honesty, growth, reflection, and grace. I’d love to start posting more consistently, maybe even every Tuesday and Thursday, just to keep it simple and doable.
No pressure. No promises of perfection. Just presence.
Some days that might look like Bible reflections. Other days it might be lessons learned, questions I’m still carrying, or moments where faith and real life collide in messy, beautiful ways. If this year taught me anything, it’s that consistency rooted in grace lasts longer than motivation rooted in guilt.
If you’re reading this and you also set a spiritual goal you didn’t fully meet, whether it was reading the Bible, praying more, journaling, or simply slowing down… Please hear this: falling a little short doesn’t erase how far you came.
We’re allowed to continue without condemnation. We’re allowed to begin again without starting from zero.
So here’s to carrying on.
With humility.
With hope.
With a clear heart and a good spirit.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll see you back here on Tuesday. 💛
calling c.p 