Looking Back, Moving forward

Many of us live in the tyranny of the next thing.  We get through something then we are straight on to the next thing with hardly a moment to draw breath.  This is reinforced by features of our culture like advertising, the pressure to consume, and a focus on the new, fresh and novel.

Two weekends ago we had our annual general meeting at church.  For that meeting I wrote a report about what had gone on in the life of our community over the previous 12 months.  It was humbling to be reminded of all the significant things God had done and the major ways in which we had changed.  Today I was talking to another minister who had just had their AGM, and they had a similar sentiment.

Now on an individual basis (compared to a church) there tends not to be the same volume of significant events/changes and so it is sometimes good to consider a longer period.

You might like to look back over the last 5 years and either physically or just mentally construct your own 5 year AGM report.  Think about the significant things that have happened (positive and negative), people you have interacted with, what you have learned about God, what you have learned about yourself, how you have changed, and where you have experienced God's grace.

2013 ......

2012 ......

2011 .....

2010 .....
 
2009 .....


I once did a detailed exercise looking back over my whole life and it started with brainstorming significant moments, people, and events.  I just wrote them down on post-it notes as they came to mind and that way I could rearrange them in chronological order afterwards (some of them even happened before I was born).  The time gaps then prompted me to recall more information.  That process really helped me identify how God had been at work in my life, shaping and preparing me for what He was calling me to in the future.

So this looking back is not just for it's own sake.  Rather it is a way of remembering the many ways God has worked in our lives so we can discern how God has been shaping and preparing us for the future .....  Looking back, moving forward.