In the first challenge we talked about the importance of healthy reflection. One of the challenges was to write down 6 joys and 6 pains from the previous year. Since then we’ve talked about forgiveness, regret and some tips for handling the negative turns that have occurred in the last year. Now we’re going to turn towards the gifts and joys that have played out in the last 365 days.
If you still have the list nearby, look back over the 6 gifs of 2014. If you’re list is elsewhere, take a few minutes to think back or write down a new list.
Whether it takes 5 min. or 5 hours, go through each moment on the list and ask yourself a few questions..
(also, if the gift has changed since it happened, don’t worry about tracing the change, just consider the moment itself)..
Can you think of the situations that directly led up to the gift? What were they?
Was the moment a wild chance, expected or somewhere in-between?
Is there an physical item/song that you have that reminds you of the moment?
Who were the people involved in this?
The tough truth is this: Every year will have gifts, and every year will have negative times. Both Joy and Pain need there moments. 2015 could be the best year of your life, or an incredibly difficult year, which is why it is vitally important to remember the times when hope has erupted from seemingly hopeless or average situations. It’s important to remember the times when you’ve been surprised by joy.
If you’ve found an physical item, a song or a photo to remind you of the moment, save it somewhere; hide it in a closet or a glove compartment or a pocket. As your doing so, think about the moment it resembles. Whether you need to return to it once or every hour in 2015, it’ll be there. It’s our prayer that no matter how difficult any moment may seem that you remember that hope is there and joy can be closer than the next breath!