On the Winding Path

Finding renewal and peace in the rhythms of seasonal living — one step at a time.

Welcome friend,

I’m so glad you’re here.

I hope this will be a place where you can stop and take a breath in the midst of your busy day.

Here at On the Winding Path, you’ll find a growing collection of reflections and musings, exploring what it means to slow down and live in the rhythms of each season, finding hope, joy, faith, and community along the way.

You’ll also find printable resources available for download — journal prompts, affirmation cards, devotionals, a little game or two, and guided journals. These were all created with love for the purpose of fostering reflection, comfort, and connection.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey of renewal and growth, as we quiet our pace and find transforming peace, relishing the beauty around us and within.

Stepping into Spring

The Nudge to Grow

It takes spring a bit of time to settle in every year.

We get a glimpse of warmer weather one day and next thing we know, the first green shoots are poking through the ground.

Then suddenly, one morning, we wake up to a blanket of fresh snow covering the ground and clinging to the branches.

But when spring decides to stay, our days are filled with warm, glowing sunrises, morning dew, growing gardens reaching for the sun, raining afternoons, and lively fields and forests once again.

With spring’s settling in comes a renewed energy and the eager anticipation of new opportunities right at our fingertips.

Dreams we’ve held onto and nurtured during the slow, resting of winter.

Seeds waiting for the right time to push up through the surface.

Spring gives us this nudge and the right time somehow feels like now.

And so revel in the sun.

Rejoice in the rain.

Be rooted in hope.

Printable Resources

“Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”

Katherine May, Author

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

Follow My Blog for More Musings

Join me in exploring what it means to slow down and live in the rhythms of the seasons, finding peace, joy, and connection along the way. Follow my blog to journey alongside me as I walk on this winding path.

Questions? Thoughts?

Have any questions about what it looks like to slow down and live seasonally? Or any reflections from your own journey you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.

bethany@onthewindingpath.com

Recent Reflections and Musings

Watercolor Winter – A Poem

Bethany Valyou

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February 7, 2025

Nestled under blankets of soft pink snow sits a handmade home Built with patience, hard work, and love Tucked in tight, a patchwork quilt pulled up to her chin Amid a watercolor winter Purple wisps of cloud drift across the sky Intertwined with glowing ribbons of rose-gold Snow so cold…
Finding Life in the Winter Forest

Bethany Valyou

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January 24, 2025

Scampering through the snow Up trees and over logs Across the forest floor Into cozy burrows and back out again Making their own paths Weaving between trees Bounding through the stillness In the quiet forest of winter There is movement There is life Even in the cold Even in the…
How a Moment of Imperfection Led to Grace and Love

Bethany Valyou

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January 7, 2025

It was all going so well — playing my clarinet in front of the large group of people sitting in the audience — until all of a sudden the wood of my instrument began cracking and splitting — right there, without any warning — followed by the reeds of my…