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Greetings…

It's December, and Christmas will be here later in the week, so I wanted to write a summary of the year 2025. Here's what I have on my mind for this piece. And what a year it was.

To keep this simple and straightforward, this past year was the most interesting, informative, and blessed year I have ever experienced. That said, I went through some emotional struggles from previous years. There were many days when tears flowed like a spring. It was a time of praying to God, asking for clarity and understanding, and grieving, forgiving, and healing—all of which I requested. The Holy Spirit has ways to transform the human heart and is very effective. After all, it was the human heart that was created in His image and likeness. This is my worldview, and it is the only truth that makes sense on issues like these, if not in life in general.

It was a year of great significance for me—spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. I learned a lot about myself and the human race. Humanity became clearer to me —specifically, the ontological problem we all share—a challenge we've faced since the beginning of time, but it has become much clearer. An understanding of my fallen nature became much clearer, and I believe God granted me the revelations I experienced because I have asked for clarity for years now.

I've known for a long time that I am a fallen creature. The Bible tells us this, of course, but truly understanding how fallen we are is another matter. When this reality becomes clear, it leaps to the other side. Much is involved in reaching that point, and it may require a lot of grieving, pain, and tears, but the relief I experienced is remarkable. The bondage is lifted, and freedom follows. This revelation was the most transformative of the year, and why wouldn't it be?

After reading the Bible and other well-written books on this worldview, I keep noticing the message that we desperately need a savior and that the Holy Spirit (HS) is available to transform us into beings capable of attaining holiness, just as our creator is holy. Once we give the HS permission, He begins His work. Keep in mind, this change takes time, and this year was definitely a rollercoaster ride.

I don't want to go into great detail about the specific things I experienced during this journey, except to say that, as someone who is neurodivergent, I needed more clarity and understanding in many areas of my life. Much of this clarity came from understanding the human condition. And my memory suggests that the human condition is in shambles, to say the least. We can be creative, send rockets to space, and build fascinating city dwellings, but on a more personal level, we are truly barbaric, very often preferring rape and pillage. This year, with a new president in office, it has become clear that much of what gets done in Washington is corrupt and drains our country's treasury. The truth is, the people we send to balance budgets and maintain our borders are stealing anything they can, using the media to cover their corruption. Everyone has a price!

So, the reality of the human condition truly hit me hard, like a proverbial slap in the face. I already understood this about the barbarian species, but as I peeled back several layers, the truth struck even more deeply. I believe this was meant to show me the state of my own existence—stripping away layer after layer of my condition. I faced my fallen nature in a way that brought tears to my eyes, both for myself and for those I thought I loved and needed in my life. The real work of the HS was now underway for me! The revelations kept coming steadily and continuously… I am loved, talented, and worth living. The memory work was both refreshing and healing.

A lot was happening. It brought me to a place of peace and understanding—about life, love, history, purpose, and meaning. I know, it sounds like a bunch of nice-sounding ideas, but it's all we have in our language to express this. Maybe I should say joy! That’s it, joy! I don't think I have ever experienced joy like this before. And it comes in many flavors if you pay attention to the process.

So, joy it is. I also need to add a few other elements to the salad since we're here. The fruit of the Spirit includes several kinds of flavors we need to explore. As the healing and transforming process takes hold of me, I notice times when clarity becomes so real that there's a familiar voice, entertaining thoughts of clarity about things in general, that almost have a euphoric scent to them, like sipping a really nice cabernet and experiencing its layers of flavor and associated aromas.

I remember a time in my past when I experienced the beauty of a psychedelic mushroom; only later this year did I realize how this fungi rewired my nervous system, allowing me to see life with a relatively balanced nervous system—a neurology that works better than most of my species. So I have been told by several members of our community.

Let's take a moment to pause and reflect. This year has been remarkable, and I see significant growth both as a man and as a creative child of the living Creator of the universe. The Holy Spirit is transforming me through the renewal of my mind, and my healing continues to progress. The most important realization this year has been accepting my fallen nature and understanding the truth that we are a barbaric species that is lost and in need of a Messiah, and that is crystal clear to me. The phrase “it is what it is” used to irritate me immensely, but now it makes perfect sense.

To summarize this line of thinking, building on these previous thoughts, I’ve come to value the journey through 2025, especially as I’ve learned the importance of changing how I view experiences—the joy, confusion, and memories that still linger. I realized that by stepping back and viewing these memories and stories in a new, refreshing way, like applying a different font, everything appears very different. It feels both invigorating and challenging. This is when joy, a fruit of the Spirit, inhabits my life—the moments when I need to turn things around and see them from a different perspective. These challenges are shaping my life and legacy! The path isn’t particularly “easy,” but it wasn’t meant to be easy to become the man God knew, “before I was formed in my mother’s womb,”