Every year at this time, the staff of FCC sits down and reviews our Advent and Christmas Eve services. We ask questions, like: What worked? What didn’t work? What do we need to do next year to improve our services, reach out to the community and better tell the story of Jesus?
In some ways, it would be easier to just move on to the next thing (after all, Lent and Easter are coming up quickly!). But being intentional about looking backwards is very productive. It’s amazing to me how many good ideas come out of our process of reflection and analysis.
I believe we can do this same kind of reflection in our individual lives. We can do a review at the end of the year by asking questions similar to the ones our staff asks after Christmas: What worked – what didn’t work – what can I do to better love God and love my neighbor in the new year and, therefore, grow in my discipleship?
The Good News is that you don’t have to wait for a new year to start asking these questions. You can make this kind of reflection a part of your daily life.