I always loved the comparison of a Christian walk and a harrowing journey. The adventure I never wanted but must live through anyways. Knowing our world is filled with trials and trails is one thing; it’s a different topic to sit in reflection and prepare for the road before you.
For the last five years, I spend the last week of December answering a twenty-page questionnaire. The first handful of questions are reflections on the past year, though a majority are focused on thoughtfully considering the future year to come. When Husband and I married, we decided to do them together. We spent hours and days quietly scribbling dreams, disappointments, hopes, and plans for the closing and coming year; when we needed a break, we’d stop to eat a snack or two and popcorn questions back and forth. These discussions led to a beautiful new sense of intimacy in our relationship – a reorientation for the year ahead.
This year, I wanted to make our Family Summit more formal, no longer just a printed packet of questions (imagine middle school worksheet vibes, eek!), but explanations with the goals, why these questions, and some liturgy. Over the last three weeks, I have prayerfully typed each letter and thought about the reflection time ahead.
One section specifically focuses on “The Heart,” and I was struck by how difficult it is to define precisely what someone means when they say, “Your heart was in the right place” or “God is pulling my heartstrings.” Christians (more specifically, reformed Christianity) take great pride in commenting about our inherent sinful nature. “No one is good, no not one...” (Psalm 14:1, Romans 3:9) So if your heart is sinful, how can you trust it?
I wrote, “This section assesses where your heart is – your desires, your personhood, your ‘gut feeling.’ Where do you feel God pulling you? Are you seeing with your eyes or through the Holy Spirit? We often get caught up in the world around us, the busyness, the job, the friends, and the family. But are you taking the lessons God has taught you, through His Word and through the Holy Spirit, and applying them to your life?”
The questions I answer focus on reflection and vision – on where I am in this moment, where my head, body, mind, soul, and spirit are. As I continue to write the last few words of prayer and liturgy for my week away, I found myself writing a breath prayer that’s stuck with me…
Prepare my heart
for Your work ahead.