Why your spiritual practices should change with the seasons

I wake in the dark to the sound of rain against the window. My left arm has somehow escaped my cozy duvet in the night, and it is freezing. I slip it back inside the covers and place my hand over my heart. “Morning, God,” I whisper in my heart. I wait in the quiet and imagine God’s response: “Morning Emma,” then spend a few moments in silence and stillness before sitting up in bed and drinking my tea (kindly delivered by my husband). Afterwards, I might read, journal, pray or stretch, depending on the day ahead and how much time I have.

The days are (slowly) lengthening out in tiny increments but for all intents and purposes, January is still deep midwinter. It’s largely dark and cold. I used to drag myself out of bed at exactly the same time all year round, driven by guilt and performance, rather than love. I wanted to honour my morning time with God before my household woke up and the day’s tasks began. Often, I dozed in and out of sleep as I tried to pray.

I gave that up a few years ago.

What a relief.

These days, I give my body a bit more sleep in the winter and allow myself a slower pace. I still spend some morning time with God, just not as much – and that’s OK. I can turn my heart, attention and affection towards Jesus at any point in my day. The most helpful thing is to do something that centres you on God, no matter how small.

As a wellness coach and spiritual director, rhythms and routines are kind of my thing. But I also like to honour the natural seasons of the earth and the reality of my life. 

Before our nonstop, always available world, people just didn’t do as much in wintertime

If you look out of your window right now, you might see a bare tree or a dark sky. It’s midwinter, and the earth that God created is resting; nature is growing roots rather than bearing fruit. And we can allow ourselves the same luxury by making small, simple tweaks to our schedules. 

Personally, my workload is not something I can adapt with the seasons. But I can go to bed half an hour earlier and get up half an hour later – and that makes a huge difference to my wellbeing and energy levels. I can also say no to extra things and give myself a little bit more time for quietness. 

Before our crazy 24/7, nonstop, always available world, people just didn’t do as much in the wintertime – and that was completely normal. Today, slowing down at any time of the year might be a bit more countercultural, but it’s still an option for followers of Jesus. Psalm 74:17 reminds us that it was God “who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter”. Seasons were God’s idea – work emails in your bedroom, however, were not.

Spiritual seasons

As we leave the celebrations of Christmas behind us and enter into January, you can’t go five minutes before seeing some sort of advertisement promising: “New year, new you!” Once we’ve eaten all the leftover Christmas cheese, it is boom time for the wellness industry. Gym memberships soar – and this message creeps into the Church as well. 

But if you sit for a few minutes and listen prayerfully to your body, are you bursting with the energy of spring, ready to jump into action and make loads of changes? Probably not – and the clue is in my use of the word ‘spring’. While a new season is on the way, right now it’s still winter. 

Perhaps you really are sick of cheese and ready to get back to some sort of normality – and that is totally fine! I am simply suggesting that ‘normality’ be a bit gentler and kinder – a bit more reflective of the winter we are still living in. 

Developing faith habits that are strong enough to sustain you, but also flexible enough to adapt to the natural seasons of the year – and whatever season of life you happen to find yourself in – is key to healthy, long-term spiritual growth. 

It’s midwinter, the earth that God created is resting; nature is growing roots rather than bearing fruit. We can allow ourselves the same luxury 

So, how can you enter this new year with a sense of hope and excitement for a deep, rich life with God, rather than guilt, exhaustion and overwhelm? Let’s start by looking back. 

Once I have settled back into work and the kids have gone back to school, one of my favourite January practices is to spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the previous year. This can be done alone or with a couple of friends. I like to make it feel special, so I might tidy my space, make my favourite hot drink and light a candle before I begin. 

Below are the questions that I ask. You can use them verbatim, or as a jumping-off point to create your own. They make space to recognise both the high and lows, and this is really important. Psalm 139 teaches us that if we “go up to the heavens” or “make [our] bed in the depths” (v8) God is there. So, as we reflect back on hard moments, we can do so in the light of the truth that God never left us, whatever we went through. 

• When did I sense or see the goodness of God during the past year?

• What was really painful? Is there anything I still need to forgive or process in light of this?

• What did I learn?

• When did I experience joy and laughter?

• What really made me come alive?

Look ahead

It can be really helpful to place the new year into God’s hands with a simple prayer. You could use this one as an outline: “Loving God, I thank you for the year just gone. I commit this new year into your hands knowing that you are always good and I am always in your presence. Amen.”

Then, you might want to consider what your current prayer practices and rhythms look like, and ask yourself a couple of simple questions:

1. How am I doing right now?

It’s a simple question, but perhaps not so simple to answer – unless you are really good at honest self-reflection! It can be helpful to talk this through with a trusted friend or mentor, maybe even a spiritual director if you have one. But essentially, this is just a time to notice your current capacity, energy, commitment and desires. 

You might also want to consciously reflect on the season of life you find yourself in right now. Maybe you are studying and feeling really tired. Maybe you’re a carer or struggling with illness yourself. Maybe you’re in a season of transition, such as perimenopause or moving home. Perhaps it’s a season of excitement and joy. 

Whatever season you’re in, remember that God is with you. 

2. What’s working really well?

Change is great, but some things are fine just the way they are. Each night before bed, I pray the Examen, taking time with God to prayerfully notice a moment in my day where I saw his presence, or the fruits of the Spirit either in my own life or around me. Then, I name anything that was hard or discouraging. It takes me less than five minutes. It’s a really established practice that works well for me and I want to keep doing it.

3. What isn’t working that I might need to change or stop?

Sometimes things do need to change. Perhaps the way you’re reading your Bible has become stagnant, or that friend you’re supposed to meet every week for prayer is always busy. For me, I’m working more than I ever have and my Sabbath practice has become a bit intermittent. So, in 2026, I am going to start writing it in my calendar again and being intentional about keeping the time free. It isn’t something I want to stop, but I know I need to change my approach so that it actually happens. 

4. Do I want to introduce anything new?

Before you add something new into your spiritual practices, it is always good to check that you have the time and space for it – or if you need to let something else go first. 

For me, I’ve noticed that I am praying less with other people, even though there are lots of opportunities in my local community and online. So, I am going to commit to praying with others once a week in the morning. This will mean I have to reduce my alone time with God that day. 

Asking these few questions as you look back over 2025 and forward into 2026 will help you to feel really rooted in God and intentional about how you are living out your faith. But hopefully without feeling the pressure to somehow transform everything about yourself because a number on the calendar changed!

Lean in

The final practice I would love to leave you with is to notice the world around you, as you simply live in it. Notice winter. 

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). We believe in a God who put on flesh and blood and dwelt among us. We believe in a God who created this incredible world – and that the world therefore reflects the goodness, wonder and beauty of the one who made it. What is that saying? “The art reflects the heart of the Artist.”

Seasons were God’s idea – work emails in your bedroom, however, were not

Romans 1:20 reminds us that: “since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made”. 

As we take time to more deeply enjoy the world God made, we can learn more about our creator God. In the busyness of our everyday, amid all of the responsibilities and demands on our time, this doesn’t have to be complicated. Just keep it simple.

Maybe take a walk at night, or look out of the window, and notice the stars in the sky that speak of the vastness of God. Or perhaps look at the bare trees, seemingly barren but with hidden roots growing stronger, preparing secretly to bear fruit in the summer. What might this say about what kingdom productivity looks like? As the world grows dark and quiet, maybe there’s a social event you could say no to and allow yourself an early night and a deep rest.

This new year, I pray that God meets you right where you are, and that you can rest a little deeper into winter.