Spiritual Growth—January 2010

And so the wheel turns—another ball drop, another decade, another winter. It’s the time we make our New Year’s resolutions. And most of us by next month I suspect will have returned to our old habits. I certainly know I will. Habits die hard. I was recently reading a Renovare publication which began with the line, “We are all creatures of habit….We live by rhythms.” (“Explorations Rhythms of Life, Series 1, Part 1 by Christopher S. Webb). How right that is! So instead of fighting our current rhythms with multitudes of promises for a new us perhaps we could better serve ourselves and our Lord by accepting who we are and gently turning in ways God calls.


Reflecting on who we are can be a perfect beginning for our spiritual journey this year. What do we do habitually—each day, each week, each month, each year? From brushing our teeth daily to celebrating Christmas Eve at midnight with candles we repeat ourselves over and over. Knowing who we are can be the occasion for rejoicing as we see those activities that bring Christ’s vision of the world a little closer. We can give thanks for God’s graces; we can give glory to God for God’s blessings. Knowing who we are can also be an occasion for confession. We can ask God to forgive our waywardness; we can ask God to help our repentance, our turning in a different direction. Even if we’re not ready to change we can ask God to hear our awareness as a cry to bring us to place of repentance.


To begin the year I invite you just to reflect on your living.

What are your habitual rhythms?
Ask God to be your guide both in identifying and responding.


Blessings on the New Year
Caroline