Recently, my daughter and I were discussing goals, resolutions, and words for 2026. She seems a natural at this exercise, while I still struggle after decades. But with her gentle coaxing, I settled on my word for the year: replenish. 

Defined in Dictionary.com (British version), replenish is an action verb meaning 

1. to make full or complete again by supplying what has been used up or is lacking
2. to put fresh fuel on (a fire)

It wasn’t the first word that came to mind, but replenish aptly describes what I need to focus on right now. After an exacting year and a wonderfully hectic holiday season, many areas of my life need replenishing. It’s not a matter of determination, which was the first word I considered, but rather, a matter of identifying and prioritizing which stores need my attention—health, spiritual life, writing, family, financial, and personal development.

I remembered that on a hiking trip last year, my daughter and I were concerned that the storm and wind overnight might hamper our hiking plans for the next day. Fortunately, the rain stopped, and as we drove the road to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, we were amazed to see a couple of small waterfalls along the road where there had been none the day before. The chaos of the storm created rushing waters now flowing over the rock. What a sight to behold, especially since on the return trip down the mountain, the waterfalls were gone—spent, leaving only glistening rocks along the road.

If nature can provide such utter beauty after chaos and leave replenishing gifts like the renewal of a waterfall, even if only a temporary one, how much more trust should I have that my loving Creator will fill up my emptied stores with precisely what is needed? 

“[B]ut those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”—John 4:14

After the effects of a draining year, I am confident that any droughts from 2025 will be washed away and replaced with new, cleansing waters. My first priority will focus on replenishing my spiritual store. I wrote the following haiku after considering God’s gift of renewal from those roadside waterfalls.

Waterfall Renew

After night’s rainfall

releases cleansing waters

old droughts wash away.

Copyright Paula Veloso Babadi 2026

Edited by Gabriella Batel

Photo taken by author on the road to Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park.