Dianna Buchwalter

  “Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? Can the child within my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?”   Stevie Nicks wrote these lyrics in 1973. I have listened to Landslide more times than I can count, and each time it hits right in the gut. It’s a song about change. About fear, love, aging, and the quiet questions we all carry as life keeps moving forward.   As   I listened again recently, with the end of another year approaching, I found myself reflecting on the last twelve months. This has been a year! I’m not even sure what adjective fits best. Crazy maybe. Long. Unexpected.   Sometimes life throws so many curveballs at such an accelerated speed, all you can do is try to keep up so they don’t knock you down.   2025 has been filled with a plethora of lessons in love, humility , fear, doubt, grief, and joy. They didn’t all come easy. But then again, we were never promised easy.   In fa...

Last summer, I bought a brand-new pair of shoes for our upcoming vacation. They felt perfect in the store. Before we left for our summer getaway, I decided to break them in for a day. Several hours later, those expensive, comfortable shoes gave me a blister, and I couldn’t get them off fast enough.   The unexpected pain made me think of our faith journey . It’s easy to trust God when life feels smooth and familiar. But what about when God calls us to something uncomfortable or unfamiliar?   In Joshua chapter 1 , after Moses had died, God appointed Joshua, his assistant, to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land . Can you imagine being given that task? The fear could have overwhelmed Joshua. However, God knew Joshua’s heart and what he needed to hear. In the first chapter alone, the Lord repeats the same message three times:   v. 6 Be strong and courageous…   v. 7 Above all, be strong and very courageous   v. 9 Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courag...