New Year Reflections
Around the turn of each new year, I go on what I call a Personal Devotion Retreat (PDR). It’s like a mini-sabbatical, a time where I remove myself from the day-to-day in order to draw near to the Lord while expecting that He will draw near to me (James 4:8). As a thinker and achiever who’s bent towards introversion, I find these PDRs to be rich, fulfilling, fruitful.
Father God, draw me and my household nearer to You.
What I take:
These are the essentials I take along to help prime my heart and mind. They include my Bible, journal, a couple spiritual books, past year’s journals, and a hymn book.
How I use these:
I continue reading through my Bible plan, writing in my journal, reading the books, reading and reflecting on prior years using prior journals, and singing songs of praise. Each helps prime my heart and mind to draw near to the Lord.
It’s a pretty simple process. The challenge is planning ahead by putting the PDR on the family calendar and making it happen when the time comes.
The reflecting and planning revolves around my primary identities/responsibilities:
Christian – my relationship with Jesus intersects with every identity; scratch that, it doesn’t just intersect, it is central to each identity; it’s not a compartment by itself; it informs each identity, and each identity revolves around being a follower of Christ. A couple staples include church as our primary community and a Bible reading plan. What ought I keep doing that draws me near to God throughout the year, and what can I add to it to grow?
Husband – the primary human relationship God has given me is my wife, Jessica; our daughters will be out of the household and on their own within the next decade or so. What ought we continue to do that draws us nearer to God and nearer to one another and what can we add?
Father – if you have kids in the home, then they ought to be the primary people whom you aim to disciple. What ought we continue to do that draws them to God and nearer to each other and what can we add?
Church Member – keeping our church as our primary community has been a blessing; what ought we continue doing and what ought we add?
Worker – God gives us the cultural mandate in Genesis when He tells us to “have dominion over”. We are to work, to create, to be responsible for creating, sustaining, and reforming through the work we do. Work is good and is a responsibility to own and steward. What ought we continue doing and what ought we add?
Through reflecting on past journals and considering those year’s intentions and goals, I am able to consider and see what has been helpful and edifying and what has not been. I am also able to dream and plan other components to add to various identities that would be a blessing in the coming year(s).
Navigating the PDR’s from year to year has created a special place for me to draw near to God and has allowed me to intentionally steward the responsibilities/identities God has graced me with.
Written by Warren M. Grimm