Permission to Look Backwards
I am not a very reflective person. I like to pretend that I enjoy history … it seems like smart people I know are history buffs. But I rarely read any history books. That’s why Hollywood produces period movies right?
When it comes to self-reflection, that seemed even more pointless than studying someone else’s history. I am the one living my life so I shouldn’t have to study it or think about it.
Each new year for the past five years our church has handed out a brochure with four simple categories. We call it the Personal Life Development or PLD for short. Each January and February the guys in our men’s group take turn sharing their PLD with each other.
The four categories are:
- What I have learned about God this past year.
- Things I have learned about myself this past year or areas where I need to develop and grow.
- Evidence of my growth this past year.
- My specific growth plan for the year ahead.
What once was agony for me has now become a healthy exercise. Last week was my turn to share my PLD with our elders at our Wednesday morning meeting and my men’s group on our Thursday morning meeting.
Just as enjoyable as working through my own PLD is listening to the other guys share theirs. This morning as two of the guys shared I could sense the room getting a little smaller. We were all feeling a little closer to each other because we were diving into the each other’s story.
It’s still scary and intimidating to share with others — but I have given myself permission to look back over the last 12 months to evaluate and celebrate what God is doing in my life.