- A New Year message from Rosemary Road *
If you’re reading this with tired eyes, a full calendar, and a slight disappointment that the new year didn’t create miraculous energy out of thin air, I want you to hear this first:
You don’t have to “fix your life” to deserve peace.
The start of a new year has a way of making us feel like we should emerge with a new personality, a new body, a new routine, and a brand-new level of self-control and enthusiasm. But real life doesn’t cooperate with January. The kids still need lifts and school supplies. Work still has deadlines. The washing still multiplies overnight, while the inbox breathes down your neck like it has a grudge.
And yet, I truly believe there is a different way to live within this one life we get.
That’s what slowsteading has taught me. Not how to escape busy seasons, but how to carry peace into them like a lantern.
Slowsteading isn’t a romantic fantasy where everything is homemade and mornings are quiet and golden. It’s not about pretending you have more time than you do. It’s about living on purpose, even when you can only manage a few small steps at a time. It’s about building a life with your hands, your habits, and your heart — today.
The Truth About Busy Seasons
Busy seasons aren’t a moral failure. They’re not proof that you’re doing it wrong.
Sometimes life really is full:
- parenting
- caregiving
- studying
- rebuilding
- grieving
- moving
- launching
- starting over
Peace doesn’t require an empty schedule. Peace requires a steady return — found all around you, and within you, when you choose to acknowledge it.
Slowsteading gave me permission to stop chasing the imaginary “someday” version of my life — the one where everything is tidy, the pantry is stocked, the garden is flourishing, and I’m calm all the time.
That life is a mirage.
We came back from the coast to find the garage door, geyser, and routers all dead after a single thunderstorm. It was a practical disaster, but not the end of the world.
Instead of letting it steal my peace, I chose to ask a gentler question:
- What would it look like to practice peace in the life I actually have?
Joy Is Hiding in Plain Sight
Slowsteading joy isn’t fireworks joy. It’s quiet. It finds you when you’re paying attention.
- A warm mug in your hands
- The smell of rosemary on your fingers
- Sunlight on the kitchen floor
- Folding laundry while listening to a podcast you love
- Watching a loaf rise slowly and faithfully on the counter
Busy seasons make everything feel urgent. Slowsteading invites you to notice what is alive.
And when you notice what’s alive, your nervous system exhales. Your body believes you again. Your soul remembers:
I am not only here to produce. I am here to live.
The Slowstead Mindset for a New Year
If I could offer you one sturdy way to walk into this year, it would be this:
Don’t build a perfect plan.
Build a small, believable rhythm.
A rhythm can carry you when motivation fades.
1. Choose One Anchor Habit Per Day
Not ten things. One.
- A two-minute tidy of one surface
- Tea outside for five minutes
- A short prayer before picking up your phone
- Stretching while the kettle boils
- Writing one paragraph, not a whole chapter
- Cutting herbs for supper and breathing like you mean it
That anchor becomes a signal:
I still belong to myself.
2. Make Your Home a Refuge, Not a Showroom
Slowsteading isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about atmosphere.
Ask: What would make my home feel kinder this week?
- A basket where clutter can land without guilt
- A simple meal plan
- One candle lit at dinner
- Music while you cook
- A cleared chair you can actually sit in
Peace often arrives through practical mercy.
3. Let “Good Enough” Become Holy
In busy seasons, perfection is not a standard — it’s a thief.
- A simple supper counts
- A half-watered garden counts
- One load of laundry counts
- A small moment of connection counts
The goal isn’t to impress.
The goal is to become steady.
4. Practice Micro-Sabbaths
If you can’t take a whole day, take minutes on purpose.
- Sit while you drink your coffee
- Look at the sky for one minute
- Take five slow breaths
- Wash your face slowly before bed
- Say “thank You” out loud
- Spend intentional time with someone you love
- Read your Bible and pray
Tiny pauses stitch peace back into your day.
Slowsteading Isn’t a Slower Life — It’s a Truer One
Slowsteading helps you stop living like you’re always behind.
It invites you to choose:
- depth over speed
- presence over performance
- roots over rush
It’s not about doing everything slowly.
It’s about doing the right things intentionally.
A New Year Blessing
May you find peace that doesn’t depend on a perfect schedule.
May you notice the small glimmers that keep you soft.
May your home become a place where your shoulders drop.
May your rhythms carry you rather than crush you.
May you stop measuring your worth by your output.
May you keep returning to what matters most.
Peace isn’t a destination.
It’s a path you walk — one faithful step at a time.
Welcome to the new year, friend.
What’s the one small rhythm you want to plant this week?