BEHOLD: Standing at the Threshold
By Cathie Ostapchuk
There are moments in life—and in leadership—when the most faithful thing we can do is stop.
Not quit.
Not retreat.
But pause long enough to truly see.
As we step into 2026, we do so with the word BEHOLD held gently but firmly before us. BEHOLD is not a slogan or a strategy. It is a posture. An invitation to stand at the threshold of what has been and what is still becoming, and to attend carefully to what God has been forming all along.
This year marks ten years of Gather Women—ten years of quiet obedience, courageous beginnings, unexpected growth, and faithful presence. But BEHOLD invites us to resist the temptation to rush past this moment. Before we plan the future, we are called to see the story we are standing in
In Scripture, to behold is not passive. It is active attentiveness. It is the choice to look with spiritual imagination and holy honesty. When we behold, we remember where we began, we name what God has sustained, and we discern what love now requires of us.
This matters deeply for those of us who live and lead in a world that prizes momentum over meaning. Too often, leadership becomes about what’s next, rather than who we are becoming. But wholeness—true, grounded leadership—requires reflection. It requires integration. It requires the courage to slow down long enough to notice.
BEHOLD invites us to live well by remembering honestly.
To lead whole by naming what has shaped us.
This is not a year of nostalgia. It is a year of reverent attention. A year of asking not just what have we done? But who have we become? And just as importantly—who is God inviting us to become next?
As we stand at this threshold together, may we have the courage to pause, the humility to remember, and the imagination to believe that the God who has been faithful behind us is already waiting ahead of us.
This is where formation begins.
This is where leadership is renewed.
This is where we BEHOLD.