By Cathie Ostapchuk

Every faithful story begins long before it looks like anything worth noticing.

Before there was clarity, there was a quiet yes.
Before there was momentum, there was obedience.
Before there was impact, there was trust.

As we step into 2026, we are invited to BEHOLD—not rush, not perform, not immediately plan—but to pause and remember. This year marks ten years of Gather Women, and yet BEHOLD is not about celebrating longevity for its own sake. It is about honouring the sacred beginnings that shaped us long before outcomes were visible.

January invites us to return—not backward, but deeper. To remember the beginning not as nostalgia, but as grounding. Because beginnings reveal something essential about us: not what we were capable of, but what we were willing to entrust to God.

So much of leadership pressure today urges us forward without reflection. We measure growth by expansion, success by visibility, faithfulness by productivity. But Scripture invites a different rhythm—one that values remembrance as a spiritual discipline. Again and again, God calls His people to remember: where they were, how He met them, and what obedience looked like before certainty arrived.

To live well and lead whole, we must stay connected to our origin stories. When we forget where we began, leadership can quietly drift into performance. But when we remember, we are re-anchored in humility, gratitude, and trust.

This month’s practice is simple, but deeply formative: storytelling and gratitude.

Tell the truth about where you began. Name the fears you carried, the hope that sustained you, the people who walked alongside you. Offer thanks—not only for what worked, but for what formed you. Gratitude has a way of restoring perspective and softening our hearts toward both God and one another.