Word of the YearSample

Reflecting on the Past Year

How have you experienced the presence and the goodness of God this year? Like the people of Israel of long ago, we too, so easily forget. We lose track of the mountains and hills we have climbed and the valleys we have traversed as soon as the next summit looms before us. Today, let’s stand right where we are in life and turn around for a few moments to take in the view of the trail behind us these last twelve months. Let’s trace our steps back and ask the Spirit to remind us and reveal to us where he has been present in our moments this past year.

Over and over in the Old Testament, God encourages his people to remember, to look back on the days of old, and call to mind what he has done. He knows that we so easily forget. As the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River on miraculous dry ground, Joshua instructed a man from each tribe to carry a large stone from the center of the river. Twelve men dug hands into wet clay and mud, and heaved mini boulders to their shoulders, precariously balancing them and grunting their way to camp.

Why would Joshua insist on this? In the coming days and months and years and generations, he wanted them to be able to mark that moment when God exposed the belly of the Jordan River to welcome them home. Their pile of rocks might have looked unremarkable to any passersby, but they were miraculous. Without God’s intervention drying up the river for the crossing that day, they would still be at the bottom of the river, not piled in a dry heap for remembrance. As families traveled past the memorial stones, fathers and mothers recounted to their children the wonders God did for them that day.

Crack open a journal, find a clean sheet of paper, or open a new note on your phone or document on your computer to record your own remembering. Take this first step of remembering what happened last year. Write down the name of each month and name a memory or significant event from that month. Keep it brief, just words or phrases. A tip for those months when it’s hard to bring memories to mind: look back through your camera roll or calendar from last year. When you have recorded a few memories for each month, take a few moments to have a conversation with God about the year before. The following questions may be helpful.

As you ponder all this with God today, consider asking Him:

Father, would you help me see overarching themes or emotions weaved through the last year?

Jesus, what might you entitle the last year of my life, what name might you give it?

Spirit, open the eyes of my heart and mind to see where you were at work in the last twelve months. Would you show me what specific places you were palpably with me and at work in the details of my life?