Two weeks ago, while I sat on a cushion on the floor in our closet surrounded by pillows and blankets, with a trembling and inconsolable Puggle on my lap, folks in the surrounding neighborhoods were setting off fireworks to usher in a new year. With each explosion of light followed by the cracking, powerful bang we heard as much as felt, I imagined the fallout.

In the morning, Winnie will have forgotten the terrifying night. She and I will go about our business, but for many folks, the first few weeks of a new year carry the weight of resolutions made. Each year, people construct lists of lofty goals like, “This year I resolve to eat better, get more exercise, and get more sleep.” Others make silly promises like, “I will remember to flush the toilet when I’m finished.”

People hope to make changes but invest little time into the how-to as if wishing it will make it so. They expect that change is a given with the coming of the new year. As the year goes on, people lose interest and set aside the daunting resolutions as they drown under the inner thoughts of failure and disappointment.

This year, I welcomed 2026 with a clear perspective. One of my accomplishments in the year 2025 was exploring my greater purpose. Since retiring almost a decade ago, I needed to focus on something other than myself. I’m not one of those who dwell on such existential concepts, but with age and the alignment of a few other factors, I am on a quest for better enlightenment and deeper self-awareness. This past year I sought to strengthen my spiritual connection with God, my creator, and proclaim openly my savior, Jesus Christ.

In August 2025, I found a church that suits me, and I began my spiritual journey. I have always used instinct as a guide, while acknowledging the protection of angels. Through the teachings of the church, I have come to understand instinct and angels are the Holy Spirit, who has been with me all my life, patiently guiding me, even though sometimes I ignored it and went my own way.

Through baptism and membership, I am committing to this church and the welcoming congregation. From attending services, volunteering in missions, and joining Bible groups, I have received more than I am giving. Following these new endeavors, I take comfort in belonging somewhere for the first time and more than at any other time in my life. Like a buoy in troubled waters, I am supported.

To begin 2026 from this wonderful position, my goal is to have better focus on what is important. I have been reading and studying the Bible every day. I’ve been using a digital Bible study app and have a corresponding hardback book, a Bible wherein I read, reflect, sometimes research a little, and often reread for twenty minutes to an hour and a half a day.

Early in the morning, when it is too dark, and too cold now that it’s winter, to consider going outside, I spend time with the Gospel. Wrapped in a blanket, sitting in a soft high-back chair near a black square window under the cone of light cast by a floor lamp, I sip on a cup of hot tea and emerse myself in the historical accounts that bring me closer to God. This week I am deep into the Book of Job, in the Old Testament.

Job 28:28 says, “And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Sometimes the devil’s plan seems like the easy way, but it leads to a life without God. It is my responsibility to recognize evil and turn away from it. No matter how many times the devil offers what looks better or more convenient, I will choose God. This is wisdom and understanding.

Referencing the Bible, I offered my daughter some advice as she deals with a developing situation. My granddaughter is exercising her independence as she approaches her 18th B-day. In making plans to move out, my granddaughter is heading into a less than desirable (from our perspective) situation. Anguishing over my granddaughter’s decision to move out, my daughter is helpless to intervene.

I remind my daughter of Philippians 4:6-8: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.”

My daughter is handling the situation with my granddaughter well, drawing upon her own experiences from her upbringing that led her down an independent path away from me. She gave me fits with some of her choices and, with God’s mercy, all went well. Much like my daughter left home as soon as she could, my granddaughter is now doing the same. Drawing upon faith to give us wisdom, we will manage the things we can and not worry about what is not ours to control.

From helping my daughter as she faces overwhelming changes, to managing the mundane tribulations of the day, the answers to our needs are in the Bible. There is comfort to be found in the word of the Lord. I use the Bible every day.

When our plans with Winnie shifted after a rough summer experiencing changes, we had to make different choices regarding nose work. The word retirement threatened to take away our favorite game. Winnie developed some mental anxiety during travel, and physical discomfort related to her digestion and immune-allergy issues.

In managing a working K9, one must know the natural aging process and be willing to adjust. When energy wanes, we must reduce the number of searches in a day. With the normal decline in mobility, I will steer Winnie away from unstable ground. Among other things, I will never lose sight of doing what is best for my dog.

That being said, Team Winnie pulled back on training, we reduced the travel distance for road trips, and entered fewer trials. I worried about nothing and prayed about everything. I prayed for peace and the best outcome.

Taking a step back created a distance between me and my group of friends in the nose work hobby and left empty spaces on my calendar with nothing planned. But the emptiness left behind was the opening I needed to devote more time to my spiritual wellbeing.

While Winnie was recovering and stabilising from several ailments, I put my energy into church. Giving my time and energy was the antidote I needed. From rerouting angst into productivity, I experienced relief. I gained so much more than I gave. As much as I cherish my time with the church, I also wondered, if Winnie becomes able, and should I decide to return to our hobby, would I be able to integrate what was once an enormous part of my life into my spiritual world?

Diving back into the nose work sport this past weekend, I had the pleasure of volunteering at an AKC Scent Work trial put on by our local club, Sonoran Desert Scent Work Club. While running the stopwatch for the timed event, I got to see some amazing teams work their way through a challenging detective level search.

AI generated photo — *Photo generated using AI*

Some teams performed well, while others had a more difficult time. But in each team that ran, I picked up on the elation they felt in bringing their dog to the start line. I saw relief on the faces of some who danced their way out of the area singing praises to their K9 partners after a successful search. And I absorbed some of the heartbreak of others whose search ended in disappointment. But every team that competed shared their prideful emotions as each handler praised their K9 teammate’s efforts. Seeing them with heads held high, I hoped they would all keep the positive emotions they had felt when they started the day.

In the performance sport of scent work, Detective Level is a big deal, and to have a perfect search is huge. To miss out on earning a qualifying score and the little green ribbon is not a failure. Just being included on the list of high-achieving scent work teams is an honor. And watching any team when dog and handler are in sync, bonded by an unspoken language as if operating from one brain, is like witnessing pure magic.

I have reached the point in Team Winnie’s career where finding odor is last on the list of priorities. First is how Winnie feels physically and mentally. Second, is how I feel during, as well as after a search. Bringing high energy with us in every search, whether or not we find hides, has become the overriding goal.

Inspired by the teams I watched and the remarkable searching I witnessed, I set out this morning to do some recreational sniffing. No longer in training and with no specific goals, we now seek new and exciting places to plant odor and search for the fun in the game. Imagine my disappointment when I realized, at about the half-way point on the route to a local park, I had to turn around. I forgot the odor kit.

Searching the road ahead, looking for the next spot to make a legal U-turn, I hesitated when, lo-and-behold, a thought came to me. “Keep driving,” said my instinct. I obeyed. Then a second thought sounded off in my head. “No odor? No worries. What can you do? Just do a blank search; that’s what.”

Running with the altered plan, we prepared to search just like any other time. It was all official, and Winnie knew we were working. Winnie and I had the most fun just doing something together. Communicating. Eye contact. Understanding.

Laughing with each other, Winnie’s eyes danced as we moved through the wide open space chosen to be our search area. We experienced everything while finding nothing. Lost in each other’s company, I had all I needed. In the moments when I walk in quietness of mind, I am most receptive to the gifts of the present.

It is only two weeks into the year, and I have already achieved one small step towards a goal, a new year’s resolution I hadn’t even set. Today I opened my computer to write. Much like the search area we did, I pulled up a blank page. But rather than an empty space I didn’t know how to fill, I saw a fresh page brimming with possibility.

In 2026, I didn’t enter the year searching for a direction; I entered it already walking a path with God. His existence calms me when I need to be still, and His presence is my North Star when I’m moving ahead. I am implementing the change effortlessly.

Having spent the last months of the previous year with the church as my new sense of purpose, a far more profound reality is settling in. As an already changed person, I’m not waiting for this year to change me. It is happening.

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