Still Waters New Year
As we sit, praying and writing, looking out over the beautiful island of Jersey - our Still Waters home - it feels natural (and right) to begin the year by learning from a Jersey icon: the Jersey Royal Potato.
The Jersey Royal potato is planted into the earth during the gloomiest time of the year - mainly in January and February. Throughout the winter months, it remains hidden, held in cold soil and covered by darkness. To walk past the potato fields in January is to see…nothing. And yet, within the stillness, something is still happening. Although it’s unseen, growth is already underway.
“To walk past the potato fields in January is to see…nothing. And yet, within the stillness, something is still happening.”
The opening of a new year often carries a similar atmosphere. The calendar has turned, and expectations are taking root - although clarity and momentum tend to feel distant. Some of our hopes and dreams feel hidden or covered, lost somewhere in the short days and dark mornings. The Bible treats these moments, though, not as wasted time but as hidden-growth opportunities: invitations to be attentive to God especially while nothing seems to be happening. Through the prophet Haggai (and elsewhere in Scripture), God challenges us to be people who intentionally reflect: “Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5). It is a call for us to slow down and notice as the new year begins: to examine where our habits, priorities and pace are actually taking us, and to focus on God rather than any particular visible outcomes.
Although Jesus wasn’t familiar with Jersey Royals (as far as we know), He often used arable language to help us understand spiritual growth. In His parable in Mark 4, a farmer scatters seed on the ground and continues with the ordinary rhythms of life - “He sleeps and rises night and day,” Jesus says, “and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.” (Mark 4:27–28). This is our reminder of the hidden, patient work of God when everything else seems quiet. It’s also a reminder to remember our role (and God’s) as 2026 begins: human faithfulness has its place, but growth and life itself remains a gift. It arrives in God’s time, not ours. In His strength, not ours.
“This is our reminder of the hidden, patient work of God when everything else seems quiet.”
John Mark Comer says that “you simply cannot live the Christian life in a hurry” (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry). We would do well to take note as 2026 begins. Our formation happens within our human limits - through faithful rhythms and practices that make room for God’s miraculous growth, rather than crowding it out.
Like the Jersey Royal potato, you may feel like your year is starting in the dark. Maybe your emotions are as gloomy as the weather. But don’t panic. Don’t fixate on visible outcomes right now. Start slow. Start with Jesus. Often, God’s work unfolds quietly, sustained by prayer, rest, and a willingness to remain present to God in seasons that feel slow or unresolved.
As you prepare the way for 2026, the early months of the year invite this kind of trust. Like the Jersey Royal, much of what matters most is taking shape beyond your immediate sight. Your task is not to force growth, but to tend the soil - to choose rhythms that are faithful and wise, and to trust that God, in his time, will bring the increase. The harvest will come as you walk, rather than run, into the New Year!
“Your task is not to force growth, but to tend the soil - to choose rhythms that are faithful and wise, and to trust that God, in his time, will bring the increase. “
There is no need to hurry into this new year - or through these words.
If it feels helpful, you may wish to pause here, perhaps with a pen and paper, and allow yourself to reflect slowly.
Choose one or two of the questions below and sit with them, trusting that God often speaks in stillness.
Where does my life currently feel hidden, quiet, or unresolved?
What emotions surface when I think about this new year - before I think about plans or goals?
What might God be growing in me that I cannot yet see?
What season do I sense I am truly in right now - not the one I wish I were in?
Where might God be inviting me to slow down rather than speed up this year?
Which rhythms help me remain present to God when nothing feels obvious or productive?
As I “consider my ways,” which habits or patterns deserve gentle attention?
What do I sense God inviting me to release as this year begins?
What kind of person do I long to become through this year - beyond what I want to achieve?
What prayer or word might I carry with me into the early months of 2026?