One of my favorite rhythms in our marriage is our annual conversation and reflection on the year that was and the year that is coming. It was in these moments we prayed about starting a new missional community, we prayed about moving to Los Angeles, and when Mirela told me we were expecting our second daughter. Those were great moments.
The main reason I treasure our annual reflections is they draw us to listen to God backward and forward.
We focus our hearts on seeing God’s work and presence in the past. We hear the Spirit leading us forward. We resubmit to Jesus as King of our lives. I want to urge you to take time to think, pray, and process heading into the new year.
Surrounded by family gatherings and parties, the frantic holiday season typically drowns out the beginning of the new year. Wedged somewhere between layovers, hangovers, and leftovers, you might make a new year’s resolution, say a prayer of thankfulness to be done with the last year, or jot down a few things you’re looking forward to. Most of us kick off the year as exhausted and frantic as we ended the last one. Our culture drives us to move from one thing to the next without giving thought to the events that just happened. When we do this, we never engage the happiness, pain, fear, or struggle with our hearts or minds—our bodies are simply moving through it.
However, the flipping-over of the calendar year offers us an exceptional time to pause and reflect on what God has done in and through your life and what you pray for God to do in the future.