Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This scripture has occupied my mind for the past two years, since COVID hit in March of 2020. A lot has happened since then, but I often find myself wondering what actually has happened because I’ve been caught up in the whirlwind of life.
In March of 2020, I lived in Boulder with a family in the church and I was helping lead the campus ministry at CU Boulder. Similarly, I now live in Broomfield with a different family in the church and help lead the campus ministries in Denver. Though these two descriptions are similar at a glance, there’s a lot that’s gone into these transitions, and I’m sad to say I haven’t done a great job at remembering where I’ve come from or what I’ve been through.
It reminds me of when Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan. Before they crossed Joshua said, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3), and then after the water stopped flowing and they all made it to the other side, Joshua had them set up rocks to remember what had happened. “These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4).
There are many times God calls us to stop and remember what has happened; what He has done for us. I often find myself being too busy, distracted, or tired to put in the work of being grateful for what God has done in my life, even after He’s performed a miracle right in front of me! I’ve already run off to the next best thing, forgetting that God just allowed me to walk through water.
In an effort to reflect more on what God’s doing in my life, I decided to put aside my pride and begin filling out the reflection prompts my planner includes each month (I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT LIKE JOURNALING!). Though we’re only two months into the new year, I’ve realized the time I’ve taken to simply reflect on the past month has helped me become a lot more aware of how God is moving in my life.
For example, one of the prompts is,
“What or who are you especially grateful for this past month?”
My response included the following:
- Spending time with Lauren, Mylda, and Jenna.
- Friends who hold me accountable to the sin I’ve confessed and want to repent of.
- Rick, my co-leader for being willing to have hard talks and help me through tough times.
Reflecting on this question for the month of February led me to realize that so many good things happenall the time that I overlook. So I look forward to what lies ahead, and make sure I don’t forget to look back every once in a while. I know I won’t always be able to reflect deeply, but I want to be able to know what God did and have a memorial of sorts, like the Isrealites often did.
So back to the scripture I thought about all the way back in March of 2020: I see how God’s trying to transform me by the renewing of my mind. The more time I take to slow down and recognize what God’s doing in my life and around me, the more I’ll see His good, pleasing and perfect will.