I spent the first part of 2025 bracing for impact.
The year unfolded aggressively, thanks to policies thick with false equivalencies and manipulated narratives. These policies pitted people against each other, people against companies and brands, and people against their own stated values. What began as a covert war against social progress has grown more overt with each passing day, spilling out and over onto that which we once thought sturdy—burning both the fruit and the root. So much life has been threatened during this period. So much has died.
Early on, I carried this chaos in my bones and felt burdened by every bit of it. With a business to protect and sustain, employees to pay, children to guide, aging parents to support, a husband to love, friends to encourage, a community to inspire, and a book to birth, I reached my limit before the first quarter was over. There was resistance. Gnashing of teeth. There were tears. And, finally, the only thing left for me to do…was nothing.
I had to learn to watch things fall apart without diving in to catch the rubble. To feel my emotions and not involuntarily suppress them. To let people go—with love—to mend their own self-inflicted wounds. To be okay being forgotten when you’re the one who remembers.
As a helper, none of this is easy. You don’t realize how mindlessly you walk around with your arms permanently outstretched until your body goes rigid with ache in places you didn’t know you could feel. But surrender was always the answer, and the release wasn’t only about no longer trying to control outcomes. It was also about accepting that my way isn’t THE way, and leaving space for life to unfold is usually a far more expansive approach than my strategies or effort or plans could facilitate.
I am trusting the divine plan for 2026 and turning many pages in the process. We sold our family home. We’re evolving our business model at The Waymakers Change Group. Our kids are beginning new adventures. And You Are Before the World, the book that inspired this newsletter, will officially release on January 20th.
I could be doing all the things right now getting ready for this milestone. And while I am holding a couple book events and have recorded a few podcasts, I’m not engaged in nearly as much activity as I was with The Waymakers. I know this book will find its readers over time and through recommendation, gifting, and discovery. While writing, I prayed it would meet people where they are and give them what they need. That’s not a “big splash” prayer. It’s a purposeful one. A timeless one. And I understand that it will be both my challenge and my opportunity to exercise patience as God’s plan unfolds for the work, and for me.
So many of us had a tough 2025. I could go on about my hopes for you, but simply put, I wish you the new year you need.
I sincerely thank you for walking this road with me. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, I hope you will preorder You Are Before the World. If you’ve already read it because I sent you an early copy, I hope you will leave a positive review on Goodreads. This would help this helper a lot!
I want good things for you and those you love, and I pray you find a way to be before the world. It’s a gift I am sure will keep on giving.
With love,
Tara Jaye Frank