During November and December, I’m often found praying for a word to guide my personal walk with God and a word for my family. These words have become anchors throughout the year, reminding me of God’s presence, His promises, and the areas where He’s working in my life.
But this past year felt different. As I quieted myself in prayer, I felt a nudge to ask God for a word—not for myself, but for The Restored Orchard. And as I sought Him, the word Renewal came into clear focus, echoing in my spirit with a clarity I couldn’t ignore.
This year’s word is rooted in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Why Renewal?
Renewal isn’t just about starting fresh—it’s about transformation, restoration, and walking fully in the newness that Christ offers. It’s about shedding old mindsets, habits, and heart postures that no longer align with God’s will and stepping into the abundant life He promises.
As I meditated on this word, I realized how much it aligns with the mission of The Restored Orchard. We’re here to walk alongside women as they experience God’s restorative power in every area of their lives—spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. Renewal captures that in such a beautiful way.
An Invitation
I want to invite you into this journey of Renewal with me. As we step into 2025, I encourage you to reflect on the areas of your life where God might be calling you to experience His renewing power. Is there an old habit or mindset He’s asking you to let go of? A new direction He’s inviting you to embrace?
Throughout the year, I’ll be sharing reflections, resources, and prompts to help us all embrace Renewal in our everyday lives. Here are a few ways to stay connected:
Subscribe to the Blog: Stay up to date with posts, devotionals, and studies that we release.
Follow Along on Social Media: I’ll be sharing encouragement and challenges to keep Renewal at the forefront of our hearts.
Engage with Community: Share your own stories or what God is teaching you as we journey through this year together.
This is a year of new beginnings, fresh perspectives, and deep transformation. I believe God is doing something special in and through The Restored Orchard, and I’m so honored to have you along for the journey.
Let’s step boldly into 2025, expectant and ready for the beautiful work of Renewal that God has in store.
Take Care,
Sabrian Enoch
And if you haven’t had a chance to choose a word for the year, download the FREE guide below. It is full of journal prompts and much more to help anchor you!
Scripture is clear that spiritual warfare is real, and it does not primarily play out in dramatic moments. It happens quietly, internally, thought by thought. Paul reminds us in Ephesians that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces. The enemy rarely begins with overt rebellion. He begins with little lies. A thought here. An assumption there. A narrative repeated often enough that it starts to feel true. Over time, footholds become strongholds when those thoughts go unchallenged. A foothold might sound like, “This is just how I am.” A stronghold sounds like, “This will never change.” Both shape how we live.
Hebrews 12:1 calls us to lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and then it tells us how. We run with endurance by fixing our eyes on Jesus. The race is not just about outward obedience. It is about where our focus rests. What we fix our minds on determines how we run. When our thinking is cluttered, we run distracted and weary. When our thinking is anchored in truth, we run lighter, freer, and with purpose.
Emotions are not a design flaw. They are part of God’s good creation. They are not sinful in themselves, even when they feel intense or inconvenient. Jesus, fully God and fully man, felt the full range. Luke tells us He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit with joy that overflowed. John records the shortest verse in Scripture, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), reminding us that sorrow has a place in holy ground. Mark shows us His righteous anger as He looked around at hardened hearts with grief mixed in (Mark 3:5). Matthew lets us overhear His deep distress in Gethsemane when He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). Over and over again, we see compassion move Him toward people, not away from them. If Jesus felt emotions without sinning, we need to stop labeling emotions themselves as the problem.
To be unhindered is not to have a flawless plan or a perfectly curated life. It is to clear away the distractions that keep us from being faithful right where we are. It is to remember that our identity is in Christ, not in comparison, not in productivity, not in striving. And because God is our source, we are not dependent on systems that exhaust us. We lean into the Holy Spirit who sustains us. Steward It Well
And as we sit here in 2026, I think many of us aren’t tangled up in obvious sin and rebellion. We’re actually exhausted by accumulation. Expectations. Distractions. Comparisons. The pressure to do more and be more, even when God hasn’t asked us to.
That’s why the Word of the Year, Unhindered, is so timely and fitting.
We’ve got to get more honest about what we’re carrying. We often assume that spiritual growth and maturity are tied to adding more and increase, but here in Hebrews, we see the opposite. We see release. Casting things off. Laying things aside. Surrender.
It’s an invitation to reflection. What has slowly attached itself to us? What fills our days and dulls our discernment? What keeps us busy, but lacking real fruit?
