The last five Januarys have been hard on me. But I hope January 2025 will be much better and break that challenging streak.

The First Four Januarys

At the end of 2019, a pipe burst, backing up sewer water in my basement. As a result, in January 2020 I had to recarpet almost my whole house and cover the costs of replacing the pipe. This has been a blessing in disguise because the new carpet was paid for by my insurance and is much nicer than the old one.

In January 2021, something unexpected happened at my job involving a sudden, sad goodbye. Thankfully, I believe everyone involved is better off now.

In January 2022, my dishwasher broke, necessitating a new kitchen floor and a new dishwasher. That helped me become much more patient and thankful to have a dishwasher.

In January 2023, I had a double problem of my washing machine breaking and my roof leaking. I got a brand-new washing machine and dryer, and I fixed several old problems with my roof that made it much stronger in the long run.

The Final January

Finally, I thought I had broken the streak when nothing happened in January 2024. But I suppose this time was a bookend since all my trouble started the month before January 2020 because one more problem came in February 2024. My gutters were leaking on a spot near my house where the water had seeped down into my basement wall.

Happily, we caught it right after the leak started, and we were able to contain the damage. Then we had a week of clear skies to figure out a solution to the problem, which turned out to be getting our gutters replaced. Now the water diverts far away from the problem area.

Not long after we got our gutters installed, we had a once-in-a-generation hailstorm with golf ball-sized hailstones falling everywhere smashing into our house. It must have lasted for half an hour, creating near-flood conditions. I was grateful for three things:

• My house is on top of a plateau, so the water flowed away from us.
• My new roof barely suffered a scratch from the heavy hail hitting it.
• The gutters did their job beautifully. We made sure to get extra big ones, so they didn’t spill at all, but diverted the hail and water away from the weak spots.

Because of these three things, no flooding occurred in our basement or any part of our house.

Trials Leading to Blessings

Every January since 2020 has been a trial, but it’s also led to miraculous results I couldn’t have foreseen. You may have noticed all the positive things that happened after I went through hardships. There’s a lesson in there, don’t you think?

Perhaps my wish for January 2025 shouldn’t be to avoid any suffering but to endure well whatever is coming. I can trust that any problems that come up will strengthen me and be for the best. Struggle is necessary for growth. Even though I’m dreaming of a mild January, I’m preparing for a hard one. So I won’t be disappointed by either outcome.

I’m hoping to see miracles occur this coming year, and I’m excited to share certain things that are in the works that could change everything and be a big answer to prayers.

This is the Deja Reviewer wishing you a Happy New Year!

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