A Time of Reflection
I am not trying to wish away Christmas at all, I absolutely love Christmas. But Christmas is the perfect time to start reflecting on the past year. Shortly after Christmas people start thinking about the new year. New Years is a time to look forward, make goals and hopes for the future. So let’s take the last couple days of December as a time to look back, ponder and reflect on the past.
Looking Back:
One of the best ways to learn and grow is to reflect and assess where you have been this past year. What opportunities have you come upon? What struggles have you endured? How have you grown? What has changed this past year? Like most of you, my life experiences change pretty much every day. There is always some factor of uncertainty, something new, a change in mood or change in scenery. Things that are out of our control. It is a part of life. How do you let that affect you? Change is often feared, but it does not have to be a bad thing. It can be an opening to endless possibility. I am not a huge fan of change, but I have realized that it really shows you where you put your faith and trust. I like to be in control of things… so when something out of my control changes, it sends me a little out of whack. But that helpless feeling can be a reminder that I am not in control. While I may feel helpless I am not hopeless. There is something and someone bigger and more powerful that I serve. Someone that gives me hope. So I have the choice to take these changes as places to see the Lord make a change and mold me into more of the person that he wants me to be. If I dwell and resent the change, it is a burden and hindrance to grow. But if I accept it and trust, it is an open door to something that may be extraordinary. God can make extraordinary out of ordinary
How to embrace Change
Too often I take only the New Year to reflect on where God has moved in my life the past year. But why do I just have one or two days a year to really analyze and contemplate life. I should be reflecting on where the Lord is working in my life every day. Instead, I am finding myself missing out on the recognition of where God is moving, and where he is present in the every day. I believe God is with me every day, but do I recognize it and take the time to reflect on it? Not enough. Each night maybe I could take a few moments to write down or list in my head the moments where God showed up. This would be a great way to reflect, learn, and embrace the every day. Not just wait until the New Year to look back and look forward. We should be doing that every day.
The New Year:
So this next year, I don’t want the whole year to pass before I think about where I am in life. If not every day, I want to be much more aware of where the Lord is working, how I am growing and changing, the way things around me are affecting me, and be open to areas in which I can adjust and adapt my life. Every day is an opportunity. What are we doing with that world full of possibility before us?
If you are reading this on your internet, ipad, phone, or other device, you probably live a life of privilege? It is okay to live in those blessings that we have, but also live in humble reverence and gratitude. We do not deserve what we have, we are not entitled to anything. Everything is a gift, and we have a responsibility to serve the Lord, glorify the Lord, and honor him in who we are and what we do. What are we going to do with that call? Live in the moment, the minute, the hour, the day, for such a time as this. Today is your day. Reflect. Thank the people that have made a difference in your life this past year. Learn from your mistakes. Grow. Take steps to move into the next year with confidence and humility of the God you serve.
Prayer for 2013
Ephesians 3:17-21
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
